


Star Trek Picard: Callings

by MultifandomForte



Series: The New Collective [1]
Category: Star Trek: Picard
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Dogs, F/F, F/M, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Inspired by Music, Major Original Character(s), Musical References, Original Character(s), Reunions, Self-Acceptance, Self-Doubt, Self-Worth Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 94,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24409462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MultifandomForte/pseuds/MultifandomForte
Summary: Cecilia Annalee Williams; the young adult daughter of Vanessa Kassidy Williams, former Commander under Captain Jean-Luc Picard. After dropping out of Starfleet Academy, she finds the, now retired, Admiral Picard, determined to discover herself. Four years later, a young woman approaches Picard and Cecilia, pleading for help. This woman, however, has a secret that will alter their lives for good.
Relationships: Agnes Jurati/Bruce Maddox, Agnes Jurati/Cristóbal Rios, Elnor (Star Trek)/Original Character(s), Narek (Star Trek)/Original Female Character(s), Soji Asha/Narek
Series: The New Collective [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1879744
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on my other story, Star Trek The Next Generation: Home. I haven't yet published the story where it is revealed that my character, Vanessa Williams, becomes the mother of two children, but this is based on that. Please read STNG: Home for a grasp on the main basis. Sorry about all this, but thank you for trying this out! <3
> 
> P.s. concrit is highly appreciated, but please keep it nice and please do not use my characters without asking!

Cecilia awoke from another restless night, Juno lying next to her. She sighed, relieved, but also still not content. She had been having more frequent dreams about her mother, not all of them good. Cecilia sat up in bed.

“Brand new day, right Juno?” she asked her dog neutrally. If not neutral, then worn. Juno made a sound, presumably in agreement. Somewhat reluctantly, Cecilia got up from her bed, and got herself ready for the day that loomed ahead of her.

Although Cecilia was wearing one of the outfits she felt most comfortable in, she didn’t feel comfortable with herself this day. She had inherited her slightly telepathic ability from her mother, but it wasn’t always her favorite trait. She was more subject to dreams and visions, which weren’t typically welcome. Cecilia walked downstairs with Juno, heading for the vineyard. Every morning she met with her mother’s former captain, walking with him and his dog, No. 1, among the vineyard he owned. They would talk about whatever subject would come up, ranging from dreams of the night before, to old memories that had been previously forgotten. This day, however, Cecilia was running late for their walk. She knew that Picard would start on without her, so she was in a little bit of a rush. The sunlight hit her face the moment she exited the door; a sensation she loved, even though she had grown so accustomed to it. Juno immediately ran ahead, straight to No. 1. The two dogs loved each other, which was a very good thing. Cecilia walked quickly, but didn’t run, to catch up to Picard. The dogs were playing with each other by the time Cecilia was caught up.

“Good morning, Captain,” she greeted, a hint of weariness slipping into her tone. She only knew Picard as “Captain”, due to her mother. PIcard did have other titles---Jean-Luc, Admiral, Captain, and others---but Captain was the one Cecilia, like her mother, latched on to.

“Good morning, Cecilia,” Picard returned the greeting.

“How was your sleep last night?” she asked.

“Alright.”

“That’s good.” Truthfully, Cecilia felt incredibly awkward. She wanted to tell Picard everything about her dreams of her mother, but she found herself becoming more and more withdrawn from discussing such personal matters with him. Jean-Luc, however, didn’t find anything to be wrong with Cecilia, yet. He was always grateful for her company. Cecilia was very much like her mother, and Picard greatly missed that company. He recently noticed, however, that Cecilia was becoming more like Vanessa in a specific aspect that he wasn’t comfortable with, and he didn’t want Cecilia inheriting it.

“How was your night?” he asked her. Cecilia shrugged in response, her hands in the front pockets of her jeans. Picard caught on immediately, but didn’t want to approach the matter the same way he would Vanessa. “Is something bothering you?” he asked gently. Cecilia shrugged again.

“I’m not really sure,” she answered. Truthfully, Cecilia didn’t know how she felt. She wasn’t sure if these dreams were necessarily  _ bothering _ her, but they weren’t exactly pleasant either. Taking Cecilia’s hesitance as a negative sign, Picard withdrew a little.

“Well, I made breakfast this morning.” That comment got a snicker from Cecilia.

“You?” she questioned, a jokingly sarcastic tone filling her voice.

“Yes.” She laughed a little, but Picard was internally thankful that Cecilia was still smiling. She was fragile, but neither of them knew  _ how  _ fragile.

“What?”

“I don’t think you’ve made anything since Laris has been here.”

“Yes, I have.”

“I’ll rephrase, you haven’t made anything relating to the three meals of the day since Laris got here.”

“Well, what do you expect from an old man?” Cecilia snickered again. Yes, she was aware that Picard was much older than her, but she never viewed him necessarily as an “old man”. The conversation went quiet, which hadn’t happened in awhile during their morning walks. Cecilia seemed hesitant, which wasn’t exactly normal for her. Picard was taking it as a bad sign. “Cecilia, what’s wrong?” he finally asked, figuring he’d get an answer her mother was most likely to respond with.

“Do you ever have those dreams where you’re not sure if they matter or not, but they don’t fell right either?”

“All the time,” Jean-Luc replied. He was grateful that she didn’t try to deny that something was wrong. Her mother did that all the time, and it drove him insane. He wanted Cecilia to be able to talk to him.

“I’ve been getting bad dreams about….my mom,” Cecilia admitted. Talking about Vanessa was a very sensitive subject for both of them.

“Your mother?” Cecilia nodded in reply.

“It’s kind of rare that I dream of her.”

“Really?” Cecilia nodded, but then went quiet. She wasn’t really sure why she was telling Picard about her unwelcome dreams. She was trying to figure out a way to retreat, which was something Picard was currently trying to prevent. He wanted her to keep talking, tell him what was wrong, feel comfortable around him. Vanessa took years to develop that trust, and even then it had some limits. Picard didn’t want that for Cecilia. It took its toll on a person; one that was almost irreversible. Cecilia shrugged.

“It’s whatever. It’s nothing,” she said, in an attempt to backtrack. Picard thought for a minute, thinking about how he would’ve responded to Vanessa. He had to do the opposite.

“What was the dream about?” he asked her.

“Just me in a dark space and it’s cold. I keep hearing my mom yelling my name and I can’t find her, but it sounds like she’s in trouble.” Cecilia spoke quickly, silently and unconsciously signaling that these dreams were bothering her.

“Do you know why?” Cecilia shook her head.

“It’s probably just nothing,” she began to retreat again.

“Everything has meaning, Cecilia.” She went quiet for a minute.

“I don’t know.”

“Think,” Picard pushed a little. Cecilia was beginning to feel more uncomfortable. She didn’t want to talk in detail about it anymore.

“I mean, the obvious meaning would be that my mom’s in trouble, but I don’t---it doesn’t really feel like it. It’s not so much  _ her  _ sensation of panic, it’s more….” Cecilia’s voice trailed off, and she ended her statement with a shrug.

“What?”

“I guess I’m more the one who feels the panic, compared to my mom.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I guess just because I can’t find my mom and I’m alone in the dark and it’s-it’s cold.”

“What else?” Picard was really pushing his limit with Cecilia’s comfort, and Cecilia felt that he should have known better.

“That’s about it.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yes, it is. It’s just me being afraid and isolated in the dark, scared about my mom.”

“Why are you scared for her when you believe she doesn’t even love you?”

“I mean, she’s still my mom, you know?” Cecilia answered, trying to cover up the hurt she felt from that comment.

“But after everything, why?”

“I don’t know. I can’t explain it. I don’t know what it means. It just keeps happening.”

“Why?” he continued to push his limits.

“I don’t know, okay?” she finally snapped. Picard had overestimated his current power to pull out emotions from Cecilia.

“Then you’re just like your mother,” he snapped back, not thinking or catching himself. Cecilia went quiet. His statements were beginning to hurt her. He didn’t mean to and she knew that, but it still hurt her a little. It stung.

“Sorry,” she muttered. Picard instantly realized his mistake.

“No, no, I’m sorry.”

“I shouldn’t have brought the dreams up,” Cecilia tried to dismiss. She didn’t want to cause him more trouble or restart the discussion.

“No, I’m sorry.” Cecilia felt the awkwardness spreading through her.

“I shouldn’t have brought up my mom, it’s okay,” she answered.

“You should bring up your mother more often. It’s better to talk about her than not.” Cecilia nodded in response. Her confidence was no longer completely diminished, just a little cracked. She always took Picard’s advice to heart, just like Vanessa. The two approached the back patio, where two Romulan siblings were waiting for them. The brother’s name was Zhaban, and the sister’s name was Laris. The retired Admiral had given them a sanctuary, and in return they helped him with the vineyard and around the château. The dogs ran ahead, tumbling over each other to get to the three-seasons room. Juno ran straight into the door, then tripping on his paws into the room. Cecilia couldn’t help but laugh. Her German Shepard had been so clumsy since he was a puppy and nothing had changed in the slightest.

“Juno, that’s a door,” Zhaban commented.

“Our big goofball,” Laris added with a chuckle. All of them were smiling. Juno was a hundred-twenty-pound clumsy ball of fluff that shedded constantly, but all he wanted was to love and be loved.

“He may be a goofball, but he’s also a living blanket,” Cecilia replied.

“Laris heard you talking in your sleep last night,” Zhaban said to Picard.

“Oh? Did I say anything interesting?” the Admiral asked. Cecilia felt a little uncomfortable, wondering if she ever talked in her sleep. Her mother only talked in her sleep when she was under a heavy sedative or anesthetic. That was another story, though. Cecilia’s fear was that she inherited the same characteristic.

“No, it was gibberish,” Laris responded. “But you’re not sleeping.” Cecilia, Laris and Picard had all taken seats around the patio table. “Bad dreams?” Cecilia looked to Picard, curious of what his answer would be.

“The dreams are lovely. It’s the waking up that I’m beginning to resent.” The young adult pursed her lips a little, unsure of how to take the statement.

“Well, today’s a big day, so maybe we shouldn’t focus on any sadness….?” Cecilia suggested, her tone stripped of assurance for herself.

“Yes, Cecilia’s right,” Laris, for once, agreed. The young adult Vulcan and the Romulan housekeeper rarely agreed on anything.

“I’m beginning to regret being talked into this,” Picard answered with a sigh, beginning to walk towards the house.

“You go get ready. Cecilia, that means you too.” Cecilia slightly rolled her eyes.

“There’s two hours, I have time.”

“Go on.” Cecilia followed the Admiral inside the house, even though she mentally decided that she wasn’t going to get ready right away.

Zhaban fed both dogs while Cecilia used the mixer to make fruit smoothies.

“Remember Juno’s vitamins,” she reminded. Juno took two vitamins every morning; one for his joints and the other for general health. She reminded Zhaban every morning he fed the dogs, or whoever fed the dogs, including herself.

“I remember.” Cecilia heard the dogs starting to eat, as she took the smoothie pitcher off the mixer. She started to pour it into two glasses, as Picard entered the room. He went straight for the replicator.

“Tea. Earl Grey. Decaf,” he ordered.

“Are we all ready?” Zhaban asked, taking one of the glasses. Cecilia stuck a blue straw in hers, which was simply her style.

“Are you doing an interview as well, Zhaban?” Picard asked sarcastically. “You know sometimes you talk to me as if I were an old codger.” Cecilia snickered, getting a look from both of them.

“I’d say somewhere on the slightly more insane side,” she commented.

“The first interviewer has just arrived,” Laris announced, as she entered the room. “Go and get ready. Cecilia, that means you too, in case they catch sight of you.” Being the daughter of a very controversial former Starfleet Commander and an extremely gifted former Engineering Ensign, Cecilia had a lot of people that desired to know more about her and her life with her parents. Taking the smoothie with her, she quickly followed Picard out of the room, Juno right at her heels behind her.

Today was the first day in a long time that Cecilia was wearing a dress. It was sleeveless, held together by a knot tied with the two strings of the dress. It was a dark green and was just long enough that she could wear a pair of skin tight shorts underneath. Her hair was curled and held up with tiny little pins that looked like small sparkly pearls. It was, what one could be considered as, a special day. It was the first time Picard agreed to a news interview. Cecilia wasn’t completely sure why he finally agreed, but she personally took it as maybe a hopeful sign. Cecilia headed downstairs, Juno at her heels, and saw Picard standing in front of the mirror that hung in the hallway. She smiled a little, seeing that he was trying to fix his tie. The tie was something Picard was always a little insecure about, mostly because he had such difficulty with it, despite having been taught so many times.

“Need any help?” she asked from the staircase. Picard looked up in the mirror, so that he didn’t have to turn around, as Cecilia approached him.

“No,” he replied. He received a dose of what one could call karma in response, as his tie came undone again. Cecilia was smiling a little at the timing. “Still, no.”

“Yes, you do, let me help.” It annoyed Picard just a little that he had to ask for help from a young adult, but a small part of him was always a little grateful for it. Cecilia, on the other hand, had practiced constantly, at one point in her life, due to Starfleet regulations. She gently began to fix Picard’s tie. “Nervous?” she asked as she worked.

“I wouldn’t call it that,” he answered.

“Excited?”

“I’m not sure.” Cecilia pulled on the tie a little.

“Too tight?”

“No, that’s good, thank you.” She smiled in response.

“I’d be a little nervous too, if I were you,” she told him.

“I told you, I’m not nervous.” Cecilia knew that that wasn’t true; her empathic ability was telling her the truth. He was nervous, but a little excited at the same time. She completely understood why.

“You’ll be fine. You’re a great speaker and you already know which questions they’re  _ not  _ going to ask.”

“Your mother would’ve adored something like this, as long as she was with someone. These types of things interested her.”

“Oh really? My dad always said she hated things like this, particularly diplomatic meetings.”

“Well….yes, she did.”

“She probably only liked the fact that she was able to dress up for it and everything.” Cecilia grinned, and Picard instantly thought that she looked exactly like her mother, just with green eyes.

“Yes.”

“Well, I kind of agree with her.”

“Both of you look very nice,” Laris told them, as the two Romulan siblings walked over to the Vulcan and the Admiral.

“You went over the terms with them?” Picard asked.

“Three times,” Cecilia replied before anyone else could answer.

“She told us that she won’t ask about your resignation from Starfleet,” Zhaban reassured.

“Sometimes I worry you’ve forgotten what you did,” Laris said, catching Picard’s attention. “And who you are. We have not. Be the Captain they remember.” Cecilia felt a bit of guilt, knowing that she hadn’t really said anything that was so encouraging. She felt she should have.

The Vulcan, although she would never admit it, was nervous. She was most likely going to end up with some type of interview, as well. She hated the idea of it. Her foot kept tapping against the leg of the barstool she was sitting on. She, Zhaban and Laris were all going to be watching the interview from the kitchen, down the hall from Picard’s study, where the interview was taking place.

“Don’t be so nervous,” Laris told her.

“I just have a bad feeling about it.” Cecilia was partially empathic and telepathic, abilities she inherited from her mom. Now, those feelings could’ve been influenced by her nervousness, but it wasn’t something to be ignored. The screen started to play the interview.

“While Captain of Starfleet’s Flagship Enterprise, he was praised as one of the galaxy’s most heroic explorers, knowledgeable diplomat, military strategist, author and humanitarian. He had published many widespread works of historical analysis. He joins us on the very anniversary of the Romulan supernova to discuss the role he took on within those tragic occurrences. I have the rare honor of introducing Admiral Jean-Luc Picard,” the interview began. It was a nice intro, but Cecilia found herself tapping her foot faster. Juno sat by her side, his head resting on her knee.

“Retired,” Picard added.

“You’ve never agreed to participate in an interview before, so I personally thank you for inviting all of us across the galaxy into your lovely study.

“Well, less crowded than I thought.”

“Today is a….somber day.”

“A day of memories. Raising awareness of the supernova’s continuing unfortunate impact is the work I am passionate to promote.”

“Yes, let’s delve into that. When you first gained the information that the Romulan sun was going to explode, as well as the dreadful consequences that it would bring, what feelings did you experience?”

“Well, there are no words that could possibly describe the catastrophic scale of that massive change. Which is one of-”

“You can’t tell us how you felt,” the interviewer interrupted, “but your first actions were to call for a large-scale relocation of Romulans?”

“The Romulans asked for our help, and I believed that we had a penetrating obligation to provide it.”

“Many felt there were better obligations to use our resources.” Cecilia could feel herself getting more nervous, resting both elbows on the counter. She didn’t like talking or hearing about that day. She still remembered it. She remembered her mom’s reaction to it. It wasn’t good. “Instead of helping the Federation’s lasting enemy.”

“Fortunately, the Federation chose to support and supply the rescue effort.”

“Yes. Initially.”

“Shit,” Cecilia muttered. She knew quickly where all of this was going. Zhaban put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to help her calm down. Although she was grateful to know he cared, it didn’t help much.

“I have been known to be persuasive,” Picard answered. There was a slight hesitancy in his voice. “The Federation understood how many millions of  _ lives  _ were at stake.”

“Romulan lives.”

“No,  _ lives _ ,” Cecilia and Picard concluded in unison, even though they weren’t in the same room. That was the one thing her mother made sure was seared into Cecilia’s head:  _ All lives mattered _ . It didn’t matter who or what they were. They were still living beings.

“You left the Enterprise to command the rescue operation. Ten thousand warp-capable carriers. A mission to relocate over 900 million, nearly a billion, Romulan citizens.” Cecilia could tell Picard was getting nervous. Her ability gave her insight, but she instantly noticed that he was subtly beginning to wring his hands. Her feeling was getting worse. “Relocating them to worlds outside the blast range of the supernova. A logistical plan more ambitious than the pyramids.”

“The pyramids were a symbol of extreme vanity. A historical comparison would be….Dunkirk.” Cecilia immediately understood the reference, having studied history with Picard as her tutor. The interviewer had a mostly blank expression, but was nodding anyway. She didn’t know what Dunkirk was. That very much annoyed Cecilia.

“Dunkirk,” she repeated.

“Yes.”

“And then the unthinkable happened. Could you tell us about that?” There was a pause, which made both Cecilia and Picard uncomfortable. The Romulan siblings knew the Vulcan was worried and nervous, but there wasn’t much they could do at that moment. They all knew, though, what the interviewer was alluding to. Picard looked extremely uneasy. “Admiral?”

“I thought we were here to discuss the supernova,” he answered, somewhat impatiently.

“A group of rogue synthetics took down the planetary defense system and hacked Mars’s defense network.” The Vulcan hated hearing that. She remembered that day all too clearly. She had been at home with her mom. She was six years old. It was the only time she had seen her mom afraid.

“Yes,” Picard reluctantly answered.

“It took out the rescue team and completely destroyed the Utopia Planitia Shipyard. The explosions sparked the flammable vapors of the stratosphere. Mars remains on fire to this day. 91, 243 lives were lost, which led to a ban on synthetics.” Picard looked even more uneasy and very restless.

“She can’t do this,” Cecilia said out loud. No one answered her.

“Yes,” Picard answered again. “We still don’t know why the synthetics went rogue, or why they did what they did that day, but I believed that the decision to ban synthetic life forms was a mistake.” There was another pause.

“Lieutenant Commander Data, operations officer on the Enterprise, was synthetic. Did you ever lose faith in him?” Cecilia felt internally outraged. Vanessa had raised her with the knowledge of Data being Cecilia and her brother’s uncle, their  _ family  _ member. The interviewer had no right to even attempt to drag his name through the mud.

“Never,” Picard told her.

“What was it that you lost faith in, Admiral? You never spoke of your departure from Starfleet.”

“She can’t do that,” Cecilia spoke aloud again. “She had promised us she wouldn’t. We had a deal.” Laris raised a hand to temporarily silence Cecilia. Everyone was waiting for Picard’s answer.

“Didn’t you resign your position in protest?” the interviewer continued. “Why did you really quit Starfleet?” Picard looked like he was growing angry; it was obvious from his body language. The questioning bothered him as much as it did the young Vulcan down the hall.

“Because it was no longer Starfleet,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry?”

“Because it was no longer Starfleet!” the Admiral spoke in a loud tone that even made Cecilia flinch. “We withdrew. The galaxy was mourning and burying its dead and Starfleet hid from its duties! The decision to call off the rescue and to abandon all those people we had sworn to save was not just dishonorable, it was criminal!” Cecilia covered her mouth, just in shock. She had never seen Picard stand up verbally against someone like that. “I was not prepared to stand by and simply watch. And you have no idea what Dunkirk is, right? You’re a stranger to history and war. You just wave your hand and everything goes away. It’s not so easy for those who died, those who were left behind. And now we’re done here.” Picard stood up and left the room. Cecilia instantly stood up from her seat, heading quickly towards the other end of the hall.

“Cecilia!” Laris called, but it didn’t stop the Vulcan. She met Picard halfway through the hall.

“You say to them whatever you want,” he snapped, but it wasn’t directed at her. She knew he was furious. “But you do one thing, young Vulcan, so listen closely.” Young Vulcan. It was a name that she had only heard from her mother and her grandfather. Picard knew it was serious to her. “You stand up for what  _ you  _ believe in, and you defend  _ everything _ your mother taught you.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, heading straight for his study. She opened the door, causing the cameramen and interviewer to look at her. “Get out,” she demanded.

“And I see we are joined here by Cecilia Williams, the daughter of former Commander and current Starfleet professor Vanessa Kassidy Williams. May we ask a few questions before we leave?” Cecilia thought for a few seconds, but made her decision without any doubt towards herself.

“Three questions and then you’re gone, because you’ve rather upset the residents of this household after promising to stay on a certain line of questioning, but instead you have broken that promise and crossed a line.”

“Of course, thank you.” Cecilia took Picard’s seat, which she found to be internally uncomfortable. “Now, we can see that you are obviously upset by our questioning, but-”

“Three questions,” Cecilia cut her off, “and then you’re gone.” The interviewer nodded a little, realizing that even though Cecilia was young, she wouldn’t be intimidated. Ceclia’s rage was the only thing that was giving her confidence. She could hear Picard’s voice in her head:  _ You defend  _ everything  _ your mother taught you _ .

“Our first question. You live here with Admiral Picard. What’s the relationship between the two of you?” Cecilia narrowed her eyes, knowing what the interviewer was hinting towards.

“He was my mother’s captain and she looked up to him as a mentor. That is exactly what he has become to me and he is considered as a part of our family.”

“Any more details on that?”

“Either that’s your second question or I suggest you move on.” Knowing she would never get another chance like this, the interviewer chose to move on.

“Records show that you  _ were  _ a cadet of Starfleet Academy, but you apparently dropped out. What was the situation that caused you to do this?” Cecilia was becoming more and more annoyed, knowing that topic was going to come up. She was the “disappointment child”, and that was the reason why.

“Because Starfleet doesn’t like to review its security cameras and also doesn’t like to hear about harassment charges. No details. Ask Starfleet instead.” Ceclia managed to say everything with a straight face and a consistent tone. There was no fear in her voice. Picard, although still furious, watched from the screen where Cecilia had watched him. The interviewer seemed to be really thinking for her last question.

“What are your thoughts on the synthetic attack, and the Romulan relocation? The Admiral’s resignation?”

“I was six years old when the synthetic attack occurred. And even though my mother was scared that day, she made one thing  _ very  _ clear:  _ All lives matter _ . No matter who they are, no matter what they are, we have an obligation to preserve and protect the life that walks this universe. For Starfleet to deny these people of their chance of life and to prosper, it is unforgivable. It is immoral and purely a crime. It’s murder. The only problem is that no one called them out on it until that day. And now they’re being called out again. If my parents are watching this, then there’s something I want them to know. Mom and Dad, you did a damn good job raising me the way you did because you taught me to stand up for my beliefs, and that’s what I’m going to do and keep doing and I love you guys. Now for the rest of you, “Cecilia stood up, “pack it up. Cameras down, tech away, shut it down and get out.” Cecilia walked away, slamming the door to the study as hard as she could behind her.

Things had passed and calmed down, with both owners and their dogs sitting at a table in a back area, which oversaw the vineyard. Juno was sitting on Cecilia’s lap, while No. 1 sat on the ground. Both were quiet.

“There’s no legacy as rich as honesty,” Picard broke the silence, causing Cecilia to look up. He slightly chuckled. “Who said that?”

“William Shakespeare,” Cecilia answered quietly. Both dogs, at that moment, perked up. Juno leaped off of Cecilia’s lap, following No. 1. Picard and Cecilia stood up, watching the dogs as they approached a hooded figure. The dogs were barking, but also wagging their tails. “Who’s that?” Cecilia asked. The dogs had stopped barking and were happily circling the hooded figure that was staring at them.

“What do you want here?” Picard questioned the figure.

“I saw your interviews,” they replied. The figure had a feminine voice. “Do you know me?”

“What?”

“Do you know me?”

“No.” Picard and the female started to approach each other. Cecilia, feeling extremely hesitant, stayed back for a minute, and then began to follow.

“Look at me.” She flipped her hood back. Cecilia instantly thought that she was seeing the definition of beauty. The girl had perfect fair skin and black shoulder-length hair that stood out against it. Her eyes were green, the same color as Cecilia’s. Picard just stared at her, mentally trying to decipher if he knew her. Cecilia just kept thinking about how beautiful this girl was. “You’re not sure,” the girl stated. “You’re not sure.” Something was wrong with her. She seemed almost….scared. Terrified. “How do I know that?”

“Who are you?” Picard asked, unsure what to think.

“I was with my boyfriend,” the girl began to explain. “We were in my apartment and they put a bag over my head and I couldn’t see anything.” She sounded like she was about to cry.

“Who are ‘they’?”

“I don’t know, but my boyfriend….they murdered him.” The girl was starting to have tears run down her face. Cecilia didn’t know what to think. “Then I killed them. All of them. Something inside me just knew what to do, how to move and how to fight. And somehow, it was like lightning and I took the bag off. There was so much blood, so I just ran. I didn’t know where to go.”

“Shh, shh, please, try to just calm down,” Picard told her. Cecilia had the same empathic ability that her mother had and was easily using it. She knew everything that the girl in front of her was feeling. Picard took the girl’s hands in his. “Try to calm down, okay?” Her hands were shaking.

“In my mind, I kept seeing you,” she told him. “I kept seeing your face.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I came because the same lightning that saved me led me here.”

“Why?”

“Because everything inside of me says that I’m safe with you.”

Laris was working on patching up the cut on the girl’s forehead not too much later.

“There you go,” Laris said to her. “It’s all good as new.” Cecilia still couldn’t grasp how pretty the girl was. A little bit of her was envious. Both of the dogs adored the newcomer. Zhaban placed a blanket around her shoulders.

“Thank you.” The newcomer had a beautiful smile, perfect, straightened and white teeth. Cecilia had stayed quiet. Picard handed the girl a cup of tea.

“Earl Grey. Never fails.”

“We’ll be in the kitchen,” Laris said, leaving the girl, Picard and Cecilia with the dogs. The girl kept a hand on her necklace. It was silver with two circles overlapping each other.

“That’s a unique necklace,” Picard commented. “May I see?” Somewhat hesitantly, the girl took her necklace off and handed it to him.

“My father gave it to me.”

“It’s lovely.”

“Have you ever….been a stranger to yourself?” Cecilia nodded a little, but didn’t say anything.

“Many, many times.” Picard gave her back the necklace. “May I ask your name?”

“Dahj.” To Cecilia, it was a pretty name that fit the pretty girl.

“Dahj,” the Admiral repeated. “I’m Jean-Luc.”

“I know. Not because of the interview or because you’re a great man. I know  _ you _ .” Cecilia was a little offset, mostly due to the fact that she had grown up knowing Picard only as “Captain”. Her mother, now an adult, still referred to him as Captain. “It’s….older and deeper. So much deeper.”

“You may be right.”

“Do you know how?”

“No.”

“Do you think I’m crazy?”

“No,” Cecilia and Picard answered in unison.

“Do you believe me?”

“I believe that you believe you’re supposed to be here,” Picard told her. “Besides, if you were dangerous, then Number One and Juno would let me know.” Both dogs layed on each side of Dahj, calmly. Cecilia was bothered by Picard’s use of “me” instead of “us”. She was bothered by the fact that it already seemed like Dahj and Picard had known each other for years, when it had taken Cecilia almost three years to even build up more on a friendship. It was now year four of Cecilia living in the  château. Picard could tell that something wasn’t right with Cecilia. “Laris,” he called into the kitchen. “Could you please show our guest to a room? I think she needs a good night’s sleep.”

“Come with me, dear,” Laris said to Dahj. “I’ll get you set up.” Before they exited the room, Dahj took Picard’s hand in hers.

“Thank you,” she told him. He nodded and slightly smiled in response. Both the dogs followed Dahj out of the room.

“Juno,” Cecilia called. Her dog didn't listen and continued to follow her. That very much upset Cecilia. Juno was her best friend, and he was completely walking away from her. It felt like she was being replaced. Dahj would be her replacement in Picard’s eyes, she felt. Cecilia and Picard were the only ones left in the room. Cecilia’s eyes were burning, growing hot and watery. Picard knew that something was wrong with her.

“Cecilia, we should talk,” he said. She looked at him with an expression that could only be described as upset.

“Screw off,” she snapped, quickly exiting the room before he could say anything else.

Cecilia didn’t sleep much that night. She fell asleep at midnight and was awake at three. Juno wasn’t in her room that night, either. He was with No. 1 in Dahj’s room. It was about eight that morning that she heard a few doors open and close. She looked out her window and saw Picard leaving. Why was he leaving? Something wasn’t right.  Cecilia watched out her window until Picard was out of her sight. She instantly started running downstairs, straight for the door. She thought about bringing Juno with her, but reluctantly decided not to. Cecilia was halfway down the staircase, when Laris heard her.

“Cecilia, where are you going? The Admiral told me to tell you to stay here.” she called.

“Keep an eye on Juno for me, thanks!” Cecilia answered, running out the door. She hurried to the side of the house, grabbing the bike she and her brother had built when they were kids. Bikes had gone basically extinct over centuries, but there were still a few just-developing civilizations out there. Cecilia put in her earbuds, starting to listen to “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison. She started pedaling as fast as possible, heading in the same direction as Picard. She was only about 50 feet away from the house, when a familiar four-legged figure ran up to her. Juno ran beside the bike, looking up at his human with happy eyes. Cecilia couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, Laris,” she said to herself. She continued to pedal, following Picard to wherever he was to go.

She followed Picard’s path until they reached the more urban area that was closest to the château. Cecilia was determined to figure out where Picard was. She had lost sight of him, and instantly knew that he must have gone through a public transporter. The crowd of people walking around made Cecilia more and more nervous, like she didn’t belong and couldn’t blend in. Having a large furry dog didn’t help much either. She moved off to the side with Juno, looking at transport times, locations, and hacking into the transport records. Even though she felt two steps ahead, she knew she was three steps behind. Picard knew something that Cecilia didn’t, and Cecilia wasn’t one to be left in the dark.

“Found him,” Cecilia said quietly to Juno. She had found Picard’s exact trail, and it led to the archives. She wasn’t very sure why Picard was at the archives, but she was determined to find out. “Come on, Juno.” Cecilia quickly hopped on the bike and started pedaling.

There was one worry going through Cecilia’s mind: whether or not she’d be too late. Transporters moved a galaxy of a lot faster than her. It was the equivalent of riding in a moving vehicle compared to walking. She didn’t have the money to book a ride on a public transporter. She had to stop from exhaustion.

“We can hitchhike,” she said to Juno, who was equally as tired. An oncoming vehicle was already beginning to slow down for them. Cecilia held up a hand and the vehicle stopped for them.

Less than ten minutes later, Cecilia was locking her bike in front of the entire building.

“Thank you!” she called to the driver, who sped away. She and Juno entered the building. It was quiet and massive. The ceiling was extremely high, making the building look even bigger. It was a little overwhelming. Cecilia quickly caught sight of Picard walking with the Index hologram. “Captain!” she called, hurrying over to where he was standing. Juno immediately followed her. Picard turned to see where the all too familiar voice was coming from.

“Cecilia?”

“It took me a while to get here,” she told him with a smile.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, you’re on some kind of adventure mission thing so I figured maybe I’d follow along.”

“I told you to stay home. To stay home for your own good.”

“You’re not doing anything dangerous right now, so there really isn’t a reason for me to stay home.”

“That’s not the point.”

“I figured I could, you know, help out.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Cecilia went quiet immediately, her smile fully fading. “This isn’t your place.”

“I thought my place was to be with you and help you out, you know?”

“No. You shouldn’t even be here.”

“I thought I could be useful to find out more about Dahj.” There was a slight hesitation in Cecilia’s voice when she said Dahj’s name, but it was barely noticeable. “I didn’t have enough money for the public transporter, so I hitch-hiked a little bit until I found someone who got me here.”

“And you could have gotten hurt or worse.”

“But I didn’t and I’m here now.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“I’m here to help you and I’m completely fine. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“It is to me. I will not have you risk your life for mine.”

“With all due respect, Captain, that’s not your choice to make. It’s mine.”

“I don’t care.”

“You can’t make my decisions for me, Captain. Besides, I can’t really go back to the house now. I don’t have enough money and I doubt I’m going to be able to hitch-hike again.”

“Which is why you should’ve never come here in the first place.”

“I’m here because I wanted to be here so I can help you. Don’t you trust me?”

“It doesn’t matter about trust. It matters about what affairs you can and can’t be in.”

“Aren’t I already involved in this? Just as you are? I thought we were in this together.”

“No, you aren’t.”

“She came to  _ us  _ for help, it’s not just  _ you _ .”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“If I were my mother, you wouldn’t give a damn,” she snapped.

“You obviously aren’t. She would’ve been careful. You’re  _ nothing  _ like her.” That cut far too deep into Cecilia. She stared at Picard, just in anger and shock. He had never,  _ ever  _ spoken to Cecilia like that before.

“Screw this,” she finally replied, angry and defeated. She started heading back towards the entrance, where her bike was locked outside. “Have fun trying to figure out that Dahj is Data’s daughter.”

“What?”

“Dahj is Data’s daughter. That’s why you were coming here to the Archives. The painting in your study is one of two that Data made. My mom used to have a photocopy. He titled the painting ‘Daughter’ and it looks exactly like Dahj. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Picard stared at Cecilia, unsure of how she knew any of that.

“Stay here,” he told her with a stern tone. He entered a room that was off to the side, and Cecilia assumed it to be his personal Starfleet storage space. Her mom had one, but rarely visited it. While she was waiting, she headed back outside and grabbed the bike, pulling it back up to the outside of the storage room. Picard exited the room a few moments later.

“I’m not wrong, am I?” Cecilia said before he could say anything else.

“It all makes sense now.”

“Exactly. I knew I recognized Dahj from somewhere and I thought about it last night because I couldn’t sleep and I realized that she’s the girl in the painting.”

“We have to find her.”

With Cecilia pedaling slowly on her bike next to Picard and Juno, they walked around, none of them truly sure where to go. Cecilia stopped immediately when a familiar figure walked around a corner in front of them.

“Dahj?” Picard questioned, as she approached them. “How did you know we were here? I was so worried when I found you were gone.”

“I was afraid they’d come again and put you in danger. I knew how to track you here. I know all this stuff now and I don’t know how. I can hear conversations a block away.”

“Come with us, away from here.” They moved to an area away from the people around them. Cecilia leaned the bike against a bench, crouching on the ground next to Juno, as Picard and Dahj took seats on the bench.

“I did some research,” Dahj began to explain. “I think I may have schizophrenia. With the auditory hallucinations-”

“You don’t have schizophrenia,” the Admiral and the half-Vulcan answered in unison.

“How do you know?”

“My mom’s schizophrenic,” Cecilia told her.

“And I lived on a starship with her mother for almost two and a half decades. Trust me, schizophrenia is one thing you definitely don’t have,” Picard added.

“Then that means I’m a freak.”

“No, you’re not. In fact, you might be extremely special. I had a dear friend, Commander Data. He was an android.”

“Like the ones who attacked Mars?”

“No, no, not at all. The word “android” causes all kinds of thoughts for people. Forget all of that.”

“Data was my uncle,” Cecilia commented.

“He was a highly decorated Starfleet officer. He….sacrificed his life for me on our very last mission together. Data was also an artist, he loved to paint.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because, Dahj, he painted  _ you _ . Exactly as you are now, but he painted it thirty years ago.”

“That’s impossible.”

“He named the painting “Daughter”,” Cecilia concluded, a little hesitantly. She couldn’t help but think that she and Dahj were kind of relatives now. If she considered Data as her uncle, that would make Dahj her cousin.

“Look, your friend painted  _ someone _ , but-”

“You said it was like lightning in your apartment,” Picard cut her off. You knew what to do, even though you’d never done it ever before. You knew they were coming after you and the hearing and  _ you tracked me _ . Tracking me requires a security clearance code that you don’t have. The attack might have acted as a wake-up call, a positronic alarm bell.”

“No.  _ No _ . I was born in Seattle, Washington. My dad was a xenobotanist and our house was filled with orchids and he named the offspring of two genuses after me. Orchidaceae Dahj oncidium. Yellow and pink.”

“It’s a beautiful memory. And it’s  _ your  _ memory. No one can take it away from you. But you must look inside yourself deeply and honestly. Have you ever considered the possibility that-”

“I’m a soulless killing machine?”

“No,” Cecilia interrupted. “You were created deliberately with more love than you or anyone can understand.”

“You’re telling me I’m not real.”

“No,” Picard replied. “If you are who I think you are, then you are dear to me in ways you can’t understand.” Cecilia felt her face starting to grow warm. Picard had never said anything even close to that to her before. She knew that he loved her mother more than probably anyone or anything else, but Cecilia just thought, no, she  _ hoped  _ that she could live up to that legacy. “I will never leave you.” He had never made that promise to Cecilia. She had tried for four years now to prove herself to him, and he had never said anything like what he was saying to Dahj to her. “If I’m right, it means that you are the daughter of a man who was all meaning, and all courage. Be like him. We’ll head to the Daystrom Research Institute of Okinawa. Cecilia, here, this’ll be enough money to get you home. Let Laris and Zhaban know what’s going on.” The half-Vulcan paused for a moment. He was sending her away again. She angrily picked up her bike and got on it, ignoring Picard’s outstretched hand with the money she needed. “Cecilia?” She started pedaling on her bike, Juno instantly following her. Picard had called something out to her, but she didn’t hear it. Once she was out of earshot and eyeshot, she got off her bike and started walking it, just in complete anger. Cecilia didn’t fully understand what had fully happened. Picard had never said anything like that to her, or anyone that she had known, before. It was Dahj. In Cecilia’s mind, it was all Dahj. Cecilia was a very fragile person, and now it was determined how fragile she truly was. She was the “disappointment child”, as she called herself, the Starfleet dropout, the less successful sibling, compared to her brother. Cecilia truly believed that she could easily be replaced, and the evidence seemed to show that Dahj was now her replacement. Picard had always treated Cecilia with great care and gentleness; a gentleness that was unique to both him and her. Now, he seemed to be showing that emotion towards Dahj. Everything, over the past day and a half, had become about Dahj. Cecilia knew that it was right to help her and everything, but Dahj was never supposed to draw Picard’s emotions so close. Cecilie felt that Dahj had filled her place in Picard’s mind. She felt so angry, but it felt also so wrong that she blamed her potential cousin.

“Dahj, Dahj, Dahj! Everything’s about Dahj now!” she ranted to her four-legged friend walking next to her. Juno whined, knowing his human was ready to angrily cry. “He’ll probably want to keep her around, and there’ll be no place for me anymore. Screw it, why do I care? She can take my place, just like….just like….dammit!” Unshed tears burned in her eyes. She wondered if her mother ever felt like this. Picard and Vanessa were closer than anyone knew or thought, but he still had to sometimes act as an authority figure to her. Did her mother ever feel this way? Although Cecilia tried to convince herself that she could just walk away at any given time, she just couldn’t truly grasp the thought that maybe Picard had replaced her. She internally cared about him so much, didn’t he care about her too? “I wish I knew what Mom would do. Mom always knows what to do,” she said to Juno. The moment she finished her sentence, she heard a voice she recognized all too well.

“Cecilia!” she heard Picard’s voice shout from a distance. Panic filled her heart, and she took off running with the bike, Juno right behind her. She was still mad and upset, but that could wait. Cecilia had sworn one thing to her mother, and by the galaxy she would never break her promise. She’d protect the people in her life that she loved, even if it meant risk and danger. “Cecilia!” she heard again, near a stairway. She ditched the bike at the bottom of the steps and started running up as fast as she could. She could hear blaster shots and fighting going on at the top of the stairs. Cecilia kept running faster, Juno a few steps ahead of her. A masked and armored body fell down the stairs, just missing Cecilia and her furry companion.

“What the hell?” she questioned out loud, not stopping to think about it. She reached the top of the stairs a few seconds later, to see Dahj at the top of a second staircase with a gun pointed at another masked, armored being. Picard was standing in between them. The being spit a green liquid at Dahj. It landed on her weapon and her clothing. Something was happening. Dahj was….dissolving. The liquid was acid. It had to be. Dahj looked at Picard with complete horror. She screamed out in pain.

“NO!” Picard and Cecilia screamed out in unison. Cecilia’s shriek drowned out the Admiral’s. The weapon that was covered in acid sparked and caused an explosion. Cecilia managed to grab Juno and pull him into the stairway, so that they were out of the blast range. Something hit her forehead, instantly burning her skin, but she still didn’t move. She only kept Juno further covered. When the smoke cleared, Cecilia instantly ran to where Picard now layed on the ground, motionless.

“Captain? Captain? Oh God,” she kept repeated, trying to see if Picard was actually still alive. “Juno, get help!” Her dog took off, knowing that command all too well. Cecilia didn’t know what to do. “Help!” she shrieked. “Someone help me! HELP ME! SOMEONE! HELP!”

“He’s awake,” Laris said quietly. Cecilia looked up, hopeful for anything. Both of the dogs picked their heads up, checking to see if it was true.

“I’m alright, Number One. I’m alright, Juno,” Picard told the dogs in a disoriented tone. Cecilia sat up in her chair, her eyes red and the burn mark on her forehead already starting its first stages of healing. It looked simply like a reddened, newly formed scar that would eventually go away, but it still burned, even at the slightest touch, which was why Cecilia had her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail.

“You had a bad hit,” Laris told the Admiral. “Otherwise, you’re apparently the same. You gave us a fright. What happened, Admiral?” Cecilia had told Laris and Zhaban everything she knew, but the problem was that she didn’t  _ know  _ everything. She had missed the entire event of the beginning of the battle.

“Dahj. She’s dead.” Laris looked back at Cecilia, who had her head in her hands. Cecilia had told them, and it was even further confirmed.

“The police didn’t mention her. They only found Cecilia and you on the roof, after Cecilia sent Juno to get help. They said there was no one else on the security feed, except for the two of you.”

“She could’ve had a cloaking device,” Zhaban suggested. “That could be why we didn’t see her on the property feeds.”

“It might’ve activated automatically,” Picard added, “when she was in danger. She was a synthetic. The assassins were Romulan.”

“I told them about Dahj,” Cecilia said, sniffling.

“She came here to find safety,” Picard continued. “She deserved better from me. I owe it to her to find out who killed her and why.”

“You ask too much of yourself,” Laris argued.

“Sitting here, all these years, writing books of history people prefer to forget, I never asked anything of myself at all.” Picard sat up, slightly concerning the Romulan siblings. “I haven’t been living. I’ve been waiting to die.”

Cecilia, Juno and Picard were at the Daystrom Institute of Okinawa only about an hour and a half later, despite the protests from their housemates. Juno was on a leash this time, wrapping diagonally from Cecilia’s shoulder, down to her waist. They hadn’t talked to each other, and it didn’t seem like either of them were planning to.

“Admiral Picard,” a feminine voice called from their right. “It’s an honor.” A woman with short, blonde hair, wearing a lab coat, approached them.

“Doctor Jurati,” he greeted. “Thank you for giving us the time.” The two shook hands.

“Oh, Agnes. And you are….?” she turned to Cecilia.

“Cecilia Williams,” the half-Vulcan answered, shaking hands with Agnes Jurati.

“Ah, I met your mom not too long ago. You two look exactly alike.”

“I get that a lot.”

“How can I help the two of you?”

“You can tell us if it’s possible to make a sentient android out of flesh and blood,” Picard told her. Jurati smiled and started to laugh.

“No, really, how can I….” her voice trailed off and her smile began to fade when she realized that they were serious. Juno sat patiently at Cecilia’s side, knowing that if it kept up like this, it was going to be a long day. “Is that why you’ve come here?”

“Yes.”

“Even before the ban, that was….well….a flesh and blood android was in reach, but a sentient one? Not for a thousand years or more.

“That makes it even more curious,” Cecilia replied, “that, recently, we’ve had tea with one.” The comment was meant to be somewhat sarcastic, but it didn’t come out that way. Cecilia’s voice was serious, as it needed to be.

The group walked through the halls of the Institute, discussion the matter further.

“Sentient synthetics that appear human inside and out was one of the greatest ideas that was hypothesized. It feels like a lifetime ago,” Jurati explained. They entered the experimental testing room designated specifically for synthetic engineering. It was empty, with the exception of about five people. The room was large enough to hold probably around 100 students. “Welcome to what’s left of the Federation’s Division of Advanced Synthetic Research.”

“It’s deserted,” Cecilia commented, not fully believing what she was seeing.

“It’s a ghost town in more ways than one. This is where the androids that destroyed Mars were created. Now, we can only operate theoretically. Study, publish and run simulations.”

“You can’t actually make anything,” Picard stated.

“Correct. This is everything that ever mattered to us. To me. No one makes synths of any kind anymore. It’s a violation of galactic treaty now.”

“Isn’t it possible to create a synthetic that looks fully human?”

“The short and easy answer is no.”

“Give us the long and difficult answer,” Cecilia said. “Let’s go with it.” Jurati walked over and opened up a drawer, which contained the parts of a dismembered android.

“It’s a B4, isn’t it?” Picard questioned.

“Looks a lot like Uncle Data,” Cecilia added quietly.

“He’s an inferior copy,” Jurati explained. “Data tried to download the contents of his neural net into B4, just before his death. Almost all of it was lost. Truthfully, B4 wasn’t anything like Data, at all. No other synth has been. No one has ever been able to redevelop the scientific technique used to create Data. Then came Bruce Maddox. He recruited me out of Starfleet. Despite Data’s death, we were so close, until we got shut down, and it just crushed him.”

“Where is he now?” Picard asked.

“He disappeared after the ban. I tried to find him, but-”

“You said ‘despite Data’s death’, meaning that any new synthetic would have had to be made from Data.”

“Advanced ones, yes. If you had Data’s neural net, perfecting a flesh and blood body would be actually quite simple.”

“But his neural net died with him,” Cecilia said in uncertainty.

“That’s where we come to the no that I was talking about.” Picard held up Dahj’s necklace.

“Does this mean anything to you?” he asked.

“Where did you get that?”

“From our tea-drinking companion that you said couldn’t exist.”

“I really, really, really wish you had come here on my day off. It’s a symbol for fractal neuronic cloning.” Picard and Cecilia exchanged glances. Seeing their confusion, Jurati continued. “It was a beautiful idea of Maddox’s. His theory was that Data’s entire code, including his memories, could be remade from a single positronic neuron. If there is a perfect synth, like you say-”

“Then Data, or some part of Data, an essence of him-”

“Yes, essence.”

“-Would be alive.”

“There’d be no way of knowing without examining Dahj.”

“Data’s daughter. He always wanted a daughter. I believe Maddox modeled her on an old painting of Data’s.”

“A female? I suppose you could make them that way.”

“Them?”

“They’re always made in pairs.”

“Twins?”

“So there’s another one.”


	2. My Robin Hood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any of the songs used/referenced in this chapter or any chapter of this story. Copyright goes to their rightful owners. I highly suggest listening to the songs, though, because they inspired me for these chapters.
> 
> Concrit is still highly appreciated, thanks! <3

The Romulan siblings, the half-Vulcan and the Admiral watched over the security feed from the area where Dahj had been killed. There was no sight of Dahj on the screen at all.

“No trace of Dahj Asha is present,” the computer told them.

“They’ve completely erased her and themselves,” Cecilia commented, annoyed and slightly surprised. 

“It’s definitely the Tal Shiar’s operation style,” Zhaban responded.

“The Romulan secret police? Running here on Earth?”

“The Tal Shiar don’t have that audacity,” Laris argued against her brother.

“Then who would have that audacity?” The Romulan siblings exchanged glances.

“It has to be,” Laris stated. “Zhat Vash.”

“The what?” Cecilia and Picard asked in unison.

“Here we go,” Zhaban said, rolling his eyes. “It’s a Tal Shiar myth to scare new recruits and small children.”

“Well, let’s hear it,” Picard insisted.

“As Cecilia said, the Federation knows the Tal Shiar as the Romulan secret police. It’s pointless, since you could basically put the word secret in front of nearly every aspect of Romulan culture. I have heard, as well as reason to believe, that the Tal Shiar merely acts as a shield for another faction, one much older. Before the Tal Shiar, there was the Zhat Vash.”

“Zhat Vash is a term used typically to refer to the dead, who are considered to be the only truly reliable keepers of secrets,” Zhaban continued.

“It’s fitting. That’s the sole purpose of the Zhat Vash; to keep a secret so cruel and terrible. Just learning it could drive a person mad with no return.”

“What’s the secret?” Cecilia asked curiously.

“No one outside the Zhat Vash knows for certain. I, though, have heard whispers. When I was a new recruit, someone let slip that the center of the Zhat Vash mission was a deep and intense loathing.”

“Loathing of whom?” Picard questioned.

“Not whom. What. It’s claimed that they operate without regard to law, treaty, or jurisdiction, and not just on Romulus. In the Klingon Empire, Gorn Hegemony, and even the Federation. They have kept this secret for thousands and thousands of years. Haven’t you noticed that there is no form of synthetic life in Romulan culture? We don’t have androids or Artificial Intelligence Units. We don’t study cybernetics or the idea behind all of it. Our computers simply work with numerical algorithms.”

“So the Zhat Vash pretty much hates androids?” Cecilia took a seat in one of the chairs by the window. “That’s all they’re centered around?”

“It’s not just hate. It’s hate and fear and detestation of any and all forms of artificial life.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, but I am convinced that it’s what seals the communication of the Zhat Vash.”

Cecilia, Juno, Picard and Laris found Dahj’s apartment quickly, transporting there to begin inspecting it. The apartment was extremely clean. The furniture was mostly white, and a vase of orchids sat upon the coffee table. The walls were a greyish blue. Juno started sniffing around, taking in the new smells. Cecilia didn’t have him on a leash, but she didn’t need to. He stayed right by her side.

“Are you sure her boyfriend was murdered here?” Laris asked. Juno sat down.

“That’s what she told us,” Picard answered. Cecilia tried to see if she could still pick up on any fragments of lingering thoughts or emotions that still hung in the air. There was nothing. Laris took out a small device, which Cecilia immediately recognized. She snickered, causing Laris to smile.

“Romulan devices of molecular reconstruction are illegal in the Federation,” Picard commented, starting to smile with them.

“So is trespassing, but here we are,” Cecilia answered.

“They’re also unreliable. The results are an estimate, at best.”

“Yes, that’s what we wanted you to think,” Laris told him, still with a sly smile. She used the device to sweep the room with a large holographic scanner, turning through every corner of the room. Juno stood up suddenly, catching his person’s attention. He walked over to the couch, just before the scan reached it. The scan revealed a holographic recreation of what had happened before the attack. Dahj and her boyfriend were sitting on the couch, in holographic form. Juno’s tail swished back and forth.

“Surprise me,” the hologram of Dahj told her boyfriend. The hologram of her boyfriend walked over to where the replicators were.

“Your replicator menus are pathetic,” the boyfriend started to say. The holograms were suddenly cut off, disappearing as Laris’s device was shut down.

“The cheeky bastards,” Laris cussed. “They’ve overwritten the particle residuum in an extremely sophisticated way.” Cecilia walked around the room, looking for something that could be useful to them. “It’s barely detectable. It comes up as a device failure, except for those who know better. It’s just a complete wipe.”

“Can you recover it?” the Admiral questioned, hoping for anything that could give them more information.

“They would’ve had to have drowned this place in antileptons, with great risk to themselves, as well. The apartment hasn’t just been cleaned. It’s been bleached.” Cecilia walked over to Dahj’s desk. There was a long and skinny transmission inbox device. She picked it up, making sure it was as she thought it was.

“Is that to be expected of the Zhat Vash?”

“I thought you didn’t believe in them.”

“I’m starting to change my mind.”

“They wouldn’t have wanted to leave behind the notion that the place had been bleached. They would’ve had to neglect something, or-”

“Found it,” Cecilia announced, holding up the inbox device. She placed it back on the table, unlocking it. A holographic interactive board of the messages appeared. Picard and Laris gathered around her. Cecilia didn’t have a computer science degree, but she knew some of the basics. “It doesn’t have a record of any recent calls, in or out.”

“The indexes have been precisely deleted,” Laris added.

“They’ve made it so that every bit of information looks exactly the same. No distinction, no differences, nothing.”

“We need any record of any contact that she had with her sister,” Picard reminded them.

“It’s there, but it looks the same as everything else,” Cecilia replied, continuing a useless search.

“Wait, no. It would look like Dahj,” Laris said, causing the Vulcan to stop her search. “Doctor Jurati said that Dahj and her sister would be identical twins, right?”

“Even closer,” Picard told her before Cecilia could answer.

“The first thing you do when you bring a new assistant online is-”

“Introduce yourself,” the three concluded in unison.

“Computers build heuristics and shortcuts to do what it does the most often. If the sisters are truly  _ exact _ , the computer could’ve mistaken the sister for Dahj.” Cecilia and Laris were working in quick harmony, both knowing exactly what to start looking for.

“If it did for even just a few seconds, then there should still be tags there,” Laris added on.

“It’d be overlooked by even some of the most diligent bleachers. Right, there. These were incoming, these were outgoing.”

“Can you tell where she is?”

“She’s….shit, it’s nonlocal. I can’t get a specific read.”

“Nonlocal?”

“She’s offworld. Dahj’s sister isn’t anywhere on Earth.”

After a while longer of searching, the group was completely unable to discover where Dahj’s sister was. Everyone felt disappointed from it, but it continued to drive in the need to discover more. Cecilia was playing with Juno for a while, after they all came home. It was one of the few things she found joy in every time it happened. The doorbell went off, catching both the Vulcan and her dog’s attention. Cecilia got up, Juno following her, and opened the door. A short, balding man dressed in a very light green jacket and white pants was standing at the door.

“Can I help you?” Cecilia asked him.

“Ah, yes, I’m looking for Admiral Picard.”

“And you would be….?”

“Doctor Moritz Benayoun.” Cecilia’s eyes went wide.

“Oh my galaxy, you used to work on Starbase 616, at the Radiation Treatment Center.”

“One of my lesser works, but yes, that’s true.”

“You worked with my mother, back when she was on the Enterprise.”

“Vanessa Williams, I believe you mean?”

“Yes. That’s my mom. I’m Cecilia.”

“You look very much like your mother. She was one of our most successful patients, especially due to the amount of time that had passed since her exposure.”

“You truly improved her life, as well as my family’s. Here, come in. The Cap-Admiral is in the three-seasons room. Follow me.” Cecilia led the doctor into the house. Juno immediately stood up to greet the guest.

“Is your dog friendly?”

“Oh, Juno? Yes. He’s one of the friendliest dogs I’ve ever met. He’s mostly a goofball.” Juno wagged his tail, following his person and the guest to the three seasons room. Cecilia entered first. “Admiral?” she said, breaking the silence in the room. Picard looked up, initially a bit worried, due to the fact that Cecilia  _ never  _ called him Admiral. “You have a guest.” She stepped aside, revealing Doctor Benayoun.

“Moritz!” Picard greeted, standing up from his chair.

“Jean-Luc,” Benayoun answered in response. The two hugged, making Cecilia smile.

“It’s been a very long time.”

“Far too long.”

“I see you’ve also met Cecilia. I know there was some trouble with the virtual medscan, but I didn’t expect a home visit.”

“Would either of you like anything from the replicators?” Cecilia asked, suddenly getting a strong empathic feeling.

“Oh, no thank you,” Benayoun replied.

“The usual, Cecilia, if you don’t mind,” Picard told her. Earl Grey, no caffeine. She smiled and nodded, moving back towards the exit to head into the kitchen. Juno followed her. Cecilia’s smile instantly disappeared the moment she was out of their sight. Her ability was sending very negative vibes. Something wasn’t right. She ordered the drink from the replicator quickly, heading back towards the three-seasons room with it. She lingered out of sight just around the corner, staying quiet and listening closely.

“Your medscan came in at or above Starfleet minimums in every category,” she heard Benayoun say. Knowing she’d been gone just slightly too long, she entered the room again, pasting the smile on her face.

“Thank you, Cecilia,” Picard said, taking the tea.

“If you need anything else, you know where to find me.” She left the room, passing by the shaded window where her shadow could be seen leaving. Once she passed it, Cecilia dropped to the ground and crawled back to the door, sitting just out of sight. She motioned for Juno to lie down, which he happily did.

“For a relic, you’re in fantastic shape,” Benayoun told Picard. “There’s just the little abnormality in the parietal lobe.”

“I was told a long time ago that it could eventually cause a problem.”

“Loss of appetite, mood swings, unsettling dreams?” Cecilia mentally and silently answered for Picard, each answer being yes, yes, and yes. “Inappropriate displays of anger on interplanetary news holos?”

“Shit,” Cecilia whispered at a volume that only Juno could hear. The Vulcan didn’t regret anything  _ she  _ had said to the interviewers, but the Admiral did.

“What do you think it is?” Picard asked.

“I need to run more tests. There are quite a few different possibilities of certain syndromes.”

“Prognosis?” There was a pause. “Come on, let’s have it.”

“A few are treatable, but….they all end the same way. Most sooner than others.”

“I see.” There was a long pause. Cecilia’s eyes started to burn. The thing she feared the most was coming true. “I need you to certify me, as well as Cecilia, as fit for interstellar service. Will you do it?” Cecilia didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. She crawled away until she reached the hallway. She was in her room within minutes. She locked the door, after letting Juno inside. Her eyes were still burning. She pulled her earbuds out of her pocket, immediately starting to search through her song list. Cecilia opened her window, taking a seat on the windowsill. The moonlight illuminated the very image of her, as the song **“Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane** began to play through her earbuds. As soon as the music began, Cecilia let her pent up tears leave her burning eyes. She was being forced to face the fact that Picard was going to die. She knew it was going to happen eventually, but not this soon. Not this soon.

Oh simple thing, where

have you gone?

I’m getting old and I

need something to rely on

So tell me when you’re

going to let me in

I’m getting tired and I

need somewhere to begin

And if you have a

minute why don’t we go

Talk about it somewhere

only we know?

This could be the end

of everything

So why don’t we go,

somewhere only we know?

Cecilia curled up into a ball on the windowsill, starting to just cry. She never cried. She hated crying. Picard was going to die, and there was nothing she could do to stop that. She had no idea what to do without him there. She had no idea what direction her life would point in. Cecilia  _ needed  _ him. Eventually, Cecilia fell asleep, but it wasn’t until hours later, and it wasn’t a good sleep, either.

“Cecilia,” a voice said. Cecilia opened her eyes, instantly being blinded by sunlight. She blocked the sun with her hand, sitting up. She saw Laris standing next to her. “You’re lucky you didn’t fall out that window last night. Come on, up up.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Cecilia stood up from the windowsill, closing the windows while she was at it.

“Long night?”

“Yeah. Long night.”

“Well, the Admiral wants you ready within the hour, since you slept in.”

“Ready for what?”

“You two are going somewhere.”

“Where to?”

“You’ll see.”

About an hour later, Cecilia, Juno and Picard transported to an all too familiar place. There were students wearing different colored uniforms everywhere. Cecilia had Juno on a leash, surprisingly, and had the leash wrapped diagonally around her shoulder and waist. She never thought she’d be back at this place. Starfleet Academy. They had transported directly to Starfleet Academy. It had been four years since Cecilia had stepped foot onto its grounds, and even longer for Picard. The young Vulcan felt extremely self-conscious. The entire campus pretty much knew the “legacy” she left behind, which wasn’t all good. As Picard and Cecilia walked towards the entrance.

“Hey, Cece,” one girl greeted as they passed.

“Hey, Lila,” Cecilia responded.

“Hi Cece,” another girl told her. This went on and on with numerous students until they reached the steps of Starfleet Academy. Almost everyone knew Cecilia, and the amount of people actually surprised Picard.

“Cecilia,  ¿ qué tal?” a male student asked in Spanish.

“ Solo lo usual,” she responded in the same language with a smile.

“Entonces Dios ayude a la Academia,” her friend answered with a laugh. Picard, although he no longer had a liking for Starfleet, internally wished just a little bit that Cecilia had stayed. He never realized she had so many friends there. He hadn’t seen her smile like that in a while. The thought of her mother crossed his mind. Vanessa, so so long ago, before they had met, had run away from her homeworld, only to meet her father, Spock, on the steps of the Academy. They entered the building. Holographic images of the ships titled Enterprise rotated above their heads by the ceiling.

“Mason!” Cecilia called out, walking quickly towards the Starfleet student running the front entrance desk. He was human; his skin was dark and his hair was black and curly.

“Yo, the legend is back!” he said as the two of them hugged. “Hey, Juno. Damn, puppy got big.”

“It’s been four years, Mace, of course he got big. And after four years, you’re still running the front desk.”

“Hey, they found a job I couldn’t screw up, so I kept it. Anyways, what’re you doing here?”

“We have an appointment with Admiral Clancy,” Picard answered, stepping forward. Mason’s eyes went wide and he began to smile.

“I seriously thought the interview was fake, but I guess not. Never realized you got him as a mentor, Cece.”

“He’s better than our professors,” she replied with a grin. Mason laughed.

“I’ll bet everything I have on that. Let me look you guys up. Here it is, and here are your visitor badges.”

“Thanks, Mace.”

“Hey, it’s good to see you again, Cece. Remember, if you ever need something, call me, okay? And who’s a good boy, Juno? You take care of this legend, got it?” Cecilia laughed, as Juno wagged his tail like a propellor.

“Hang in there, Mace.”

“Will do, Cece.” Picard, Cecilia and Juno walked away, beginning to head towards Admiral Kirsten Clancy’s office. She’d be the one who could get them a ship.

“Friend of yours?” Picard asked the young Vulcan.

“Mace and I were best friends during our Academy years. He’s supposed to graduate this year. The Academy already employed him as head of the front desk. He never chose a major that was enough to be on a starship.”

“I haven’t heard you sound this excited in a long time.”

“He was my best friend and I haven’t seen him in four years.”

“Were you two a thing?”

“A little. I mean, I think my mom loved him a little more than me.”

“Ah, I see.” The two passed a staircase, and Picard caught a glimpse of Cecilia staring at it. “What is it?” She turned back around, continuing to walk.

“That’s the staircase where I shattered my kneecap. It’s the reason I hike with the walking stick.”

“Oh.” Cecilia shrugged in response.

“It’s kind of funny. I was here for almost two years, left for four, but I can still remember almost every hallway and room.” Picard smiled, with a slight laugh. He knew exactly what that felt like. “Also, um, when we get to Admiral Clancy’s office, I’ll just wait outside for you.”

“No, I thought we were going in together.”

“It’d be better if I waited outside.”

“You didn’t say anything about this on our way here.”

“I didn’t realize we were going to talk to Clancy until you told Mace which appointment it was. Otherwise, I would’ve let you know beforehand.”

“Why don’t you want to go in?” There was a pause, mostly coming from Cecilia.

“Admiral Clancy is the person who expelled me from Starfleet Academy four years ago,” she admitted.

“Admiral Clancy did?”

“She usually presides over student on student affairs that involve physical contact. Both he and I had physically hit each other, so it went to her.” There was a silence between them for a few moments. Cecilia had never fully opened up about the event that had caused her expulsion, and she probably never would. “I think it’d just be better if I stayed outside.”

“Cecilia, I want you to come in with me. Show her that you’re not the same person you were four years ago. I believe it’s time for you to stick up to Starfleet.” Cecilia didn’t respond, but nodded anyway. “It’s what your mother would do.”

“I know.”

“Did she ever tell you about when I was being interrogated?”

“Which time?”

“It was a little while after the….incident with the Borg. A Starfleet director placed me on trial based upon recently irrational behavior. They were having members of the crew come up and answer questions about the topic. Your mother stood up to the questioner, after the questioner had made some particular comments. Vanessa defended me, even more than she defended herself. She proved to Starfleet that she was not the same person they perceived her as.”

“That sounds like my mom.”

“It sounds like you, too.” The conversation fell quiet again, until they reached Admiral Clancy’s office. “You’re alright with going in with me?”

“Let’s do it.” Cecilia kept a hand on Juno’s leash, even though she didn’t need to. Picard knocked on the door, making the knot in the Vulcan’s stomach start to tighten.

“Come in,” Admiral Kirsten Clancy’s voice answered. Picard and Cecilia entered the room, the Vulcan staying behind the retired Admiral. Clancy looked up when she saw them. “Jean-Luc,” she greeted. “And I see Miss Williams is with you as well.”

“Hello, Admiral,” Cecilia replied neutrally. Picard took a seat in the chair in front of Clancy’s desk, while Cecilia remained standing. Juno immediately sat down at his owner’s feet.

“I’ve been told you have urgent Federation business,” Clancy said to Picard. “And that you have left affairs of state behind.”

“I am staying as far from it as I can,” the retired Admiral responded.

“Then what can I do for you?”

“Bruce Maddox.”

“What about him?”

“I believe he is using neurons from the late Commander Data to create a new organic synthetic.”

“That’s not far from all of it, that  _ is  _ all of it.”

“The Romulans are involved,” Cecilia added to Picard’s statement. Clancy looked up at her for a second.

“This gets just better and better.”

“Commander Data was not just my colleague, he was my dear friend as well as family to certain people,” Picard continued. “He gave his life, body and soul to the Federation. If there is a chance some part of him still does exist, then I believe we have an obligation to investigate.”

“There is  _ no  _ ‘we’, Jean-Luc.”

“Kirsten, we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I have a request to make. I want you to reinstate me, as well as Cecilia, temporarily for only one mission. We would need a small, warp-capable recon ship with a minimal operation crew. If you think that my rank interferes with my request, I will be fine to be demoted to Captain.” There was a long pause, making the atmosphere more tense than it already was.

“The sheer damn hubris,” Clancy angrily stated. “You think you can just walk back in here and immediately be granted the request of taking men and women into space? Don’t you think I was watching the holo the other day, along with  _ everyone  _ else in the galaxy? The holo of  _ both  _ of you?”

“We shouldn’t have spoken in public,” Picard responded, knowing Cecilia would have mouthed off.

“The Romulans were our  _ enemies _ , and we tried to help them for as long as we could. Even before the attack on Mars, fifteen species in the Federation said to leave the Romulans, or they would pull out. It was a choice between destroying the Federation or letting the Romulans go.”

“The Federation doesn’t get to decide if a species lives or dies,” Cecilia argued in a very calm and neutral manner.

“Yes, we do. Thousands of species depend upon the Federation for unity. We didn’t have enough ships left and we had to make choices. The great Captain Picard just didn’t like his orders.”

“I was standing up for the Federation, for what it represents, for what it  _ should  _ represent.”

“How  _ dare  _ you lecture me!”

“Ignore me again at your own cost.”

“ _ My  _ cost?”

“You’re in danger, Admiral.”

“There’s no danger here. There’s only the pathetic delusions of a once-great man desperate to matter and a Starfleet dropout wanting to make a comeback. This isn’t your house anymore, Jean-Luc. Both of you, do what you’re good at. Go home. Request denied.” There was a moment of silence between everyone in the room, until Picard angrily stormed towards the door, Cecilia immediately beginning to follow. “Miss Williams, stay back for a minute.” Cecilia wanted to keep walking out, but a little voice inside of her told her that it might be worthwhile to see what Clancy had to say. Once Picard closed the door, Cecilia stepped back towards Clancy’s desk. Juno sat down by her feet when she stopped. “Let me tell you something, Cecilia. I don’t know what you’re planning, or what he’s managed to put in your head, but if you try to attempt anything like this in Starfleet again, I will put in every word I have to make sure you’re permanently exiled to Vulcan.” Something snapped in Cecilia at that moment. No one could tell her what to do with her life. Picard had told her to be like her mother, and that was exactly what she was going to do.

“Let me tell  _ you  _ something, Admiral,” she began. “I am no longer enrolled in Starfleet Academy. Therefore, I am not under your orders. I don’t have to listen to a word you say. You may not believe that our cause is a true priority, but unlike you, I recently watched someone very close to us die right in front of me and now Picard and I have an obligation to avenge her. An obligation that you couldn’t even begin to understand.” Cecilia leaned both her hands on Clancy’s desk. “When I was a cadet here, I put up with all the shit you put me through. Every obstacle that was designed to make me quit just so that you wouldn’t have another Williams work their way up on a starship. And then I came to you with a stalking and harassment charge against Axel. The fight was caught on a security feed, but it was hidden away so that it couldn’t be used as evidence. That security feed showed how I fell down the stairs and shattered my knee cap. I  _ still  _ have problems with it. I can no longer walk on any surface besides pavement and grass without a walking stick.  _ I will never be able to dance again _ . I came here as  _ a dance major _ . So, really, you want to tell us how screwed up we are for coming here and asking a simple request very politely? Think about how screwed up you are. You let the person who physically attacked me go and then graduate to be an Ensign on a starship. We’re the ones who are screwed up? Take a look in the damn mirror, you damn hypocrite!” Cecilia walked out of the room, an extremely violent vibe radiating off of her. She slammed the door on the way out. Picard was waiting outside for her, also having heard Cecilia’s entire comeback. She unwrapped Juno’s leash from around her and placed it in his hand, then walking away. Picard knew not to ask or question at that moment. Cecilia needed her space more than anything.

It had been about fifteen minutes without word or sign from Cecilia. Picard, still internally mad, traveled back down to the front desk.

“Looking for Cecilia?” Mace asked when he saw the Admiral. “She passed by not too long ago. She seemed really mad.”

“It’s a long story. Any idea where she might be?”

“The courtyard. It’s down that hallway. Just go down there, take a right, and then take a left. First door on the left side. Hey, quick question, Admiral, is Cece thinking about rejoining the Academy?”

“We’ll see. Thank you.” Picard didn’t want to answer a question he didn’t know the answer to. He followed Mace’s directions and came to a large glass door. He could see Cecilia through it, sitting with her back to the door, cross-legged on a stone bench. Picard opened the door and entered the courtyard. Cecilia had her earbuds in, deep in thought, listening to the song **“Robin Hood” by Anson Seabra** :

I let you in,

when I should have run

Now all that’s left,

is something numb

I gave you all I

had to lose

My skin, my soul,

my finest jewels

You stole it all for

someone new

You gave away the

best of me

My sins, my sweetest

ecstasy

To someone worth much

less than me

You’re my Robin Hood

Cecilia felt Juno at her side and began petting his ears right as she felt him there. Picard placed a hand on her shoulder. After a few seconds, she pulled her earbuds out of her pointed ears, shoving the earbuds into her pocket. She turned a little to finally look at Picard. She hadn’t been crying, and she didn’t even truly look upset. She just looked so neutral.

“Let’s go home,” he said to her. Cecilia nodded, taking Juno’s leash. As they started to walk out of the building together and back towards the public transport, Picard told Cecilia, “I saw you dance once. It was in one of the transmissions your mother had sent that you gave me in that data chip.”

“It was my audition video for the Academy’s dance committee. I still remember when my mom first sent it to you.”

“I promise you that someday you’ll dance again.” To keep herself from breaking into tears, she only nodded in response, as they then stepped through the public transport that would take them back home.

Agnes Jurati observed the château’s living room, and was particularly interested in one of the classical books that was on the bookshelf. Juno flopped into the room in a very happy-go-lucky manner, until he tripped on his paws and pretty much rolled across the carpet. Jurati laughed a little, seeing how much of a goof the big furry dog was.

“Aren’t you beautiful?” she said to the dog, petting his floofy ears as he walked over to her. Picard walked into the room with a tea tray. Jurati put the book down.

“Ah, you have a taste for the classics, and I see you’ve met Juno. I’ve never really enjoyed science fiction. That’s more Cecilia’s style.” Cecilia entered the room a few seconds later, smiling at Jurati. Juno immediately ran over to his human.

“Thank you for coming over, Doctor Jurati,” Cecilia greeted, as they all took seats. Jurati sat on the couch, Juno lying on the floor next to her.

“Yeah, it’s hard to tear myself away from the action going on at my lab,” she jokingly and slightly sarcastically answered.

“Any preference?” Picard asked, referencing the tea tray. “We have a selection.”

“Um….Early Grey?” Cecilia instantly smiled at Picard, knowing he now had a liking for Jurati.

“I knew there was something about you,” he told Jurati, with a smile.

“I gathered everything I could find from Maddox’s time at the Institute,” Jurati began to explain. “Most of it had been taken or erased after he vanished. They left some of the ancillary stuff alone. I was thinking about the painting. Bruce and Data were friends, after a while. If Bruce is using Data’s neurons, it would make sense for him to model the new synths after Data’s painting. I also did some research on Dahj Asha. She was accepted at Daystrom. She was actually the perfect candidate. It was a little too perfect.”

“Her credentials were fake?” Cecilia asked, interested on where this could lead.

“It’s deeper than that. The records show she was enrolled there and her grade transcripts are on file.”

“So she was who she said she was?”

“She was a work of fiction. There’s no record of her ever attending R3SA. I’m no forensics specialist, but I think that everything about her, her entire identity, was built all at one time, around three years ago.”

“By Bruce Maddox, presumably?” Picard questioned, suddenly hopeful for a clue.

“He had the ability.”

“What about motive?”

“I don’t know,” Jurati admitted. “People in the synthetic humanoid life form field tend to get a little….you know, secretive.”

“I see. Sugar?”

“Oh, yes, please.” Picard took care of the cup of tea, while Jurati quickly pulled out a device and sent the information to the château’s computer system. “It breaks my heart that I never got a chance to meet Dahj. Such a wondrous thing to experience. And then the damn Romulans just….took her away. You asked me what she was after at Daystrom. I don’t believe that’s the most relevant question. The real question is-”

“What about the other one?”

“If she really is out there, and if the Romulans haven’t gotten her too, where is she? What’s she after?” None of them could answer that question. Cecilia certainly wanted to have an answer, but she just didn’t. It was something she needed to start getting used to.

Night had fallen and for once, Cecilia fell asleep rather quickly, but it was very short lived. Cecilia flew awake from a nightmare, Dahj’s scream being the last thing she heard from it. She sat straight up in bed. Juno was still asleep, curled up in a roll of blankets next to her. Cecilia sighed, knowing this would probably go on for a few days or possibly longer. She flipped the blankets off and started heading quietly downstairs for some water. She didn’t bother putting slippers on; it would be quieter for her to walk in her bare feet. Her purple pajama pants were a little too long, so the legs swept across the floor as she took each step. Cecilia didn’t bother getting a sweater either, as she was wearing a black tank top. She went straight into the kitchen. There was a light on down the hall, coming from Picard’s study, but Cecilia didn’t notice. Picard, however, had seen her walk across the hall from the stairs towards the kitchen.

“Cecilia?” he called. She internally cringed. She had hoped that no one would be awake. She hesitantly moved back towards the study, not fully entering it.

“Oh, Captain, it’s you,” she answered. “Um, I was just….” She couldn’t think of an excuse off the top of her head. Cecilia didn’t want to talk to him about why she was awake.

“Just what?” he asked.

“Um, nothing, really.” Cecilia looked back towards the stairs, but made no move to go towards them.

“Cecilia.” Picard’s tone was gentle, as he knew something was wrong.

“I just….I had a bad dream and came down here to get some water.” She made no eye contact and had her arms folded together.

“Oh.” Cecilia was standing very awkwardly, adding to her discomfort.

“I can just um go back to bed,” she replied quickly, about to move to go back to the stairs.

“Cecilia,” Picard called her back. Cecilia stopped, turning back towards him. He motioned for her to enter the room, which she hesitantly did. He gestured towards the chair across from him, on the other side of the desk. Cecilia took it, sitting criss-cross. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not you.”

“Can you tell me?”

“It’s just….the dream….and….” Cecilia didn’t really know how to explain her thoughts. It was something she struggled with for years. She wasn’t afraid to let people know when she had something to say, but it was actually  _ saying _ that something that would screw her over.

“Again?”

“It wasn’t about my mom,” she stated, shaking her head.

“What was it about?”

“It was about….Dahj.” Cecilia was hesitant to even say Dahj’s name.

“Oh.” There was an extremely tense and awkward moment, which made Cecilia think she said something wrong.

“I’m sorry, I’ll just go back to bed.” She almost moved to get up.

“Wait, please.” Picard knew that Cecilia didn’t look emotionally stable at that moment, and he didn’t want her to be alone like that. Cecilia stayed in her seat, just not sitting criss-cross anymore. She had her left leg crossed over her right and her arms folded. “Do you miss her?” Cecilia absently shrugged in response.

“I know she made you happy,” she hesitantly replied. She didn’t feel good with herself, knowing that she had resented Dahj.

“She gave me hope.” Cecilia absently nodded, looking down towards the floor. “Like you do.” Cecilia looked up, but then looked away.

“I know you would’ve liked her to stay around for a while.”

“I know.” Cecilia went quiet, not sure what to say. She felt incredibly guilty for thinking the thoughts about Dahj that she had thought. She was worried that Picard would judge her for all of it. “Tell me what it is.”

“I….it’s just….I’m sorry. I know she made you happy and that’s all I ever wanted for you. I didn’t think immediately about it and then you lost her. I shouldn’t have thought that way and now I’m just going to end up losing you because of what your doctor friend told you and I don’t want to.” Cecilia was talking extremely fast, sounded like she was about to burst into tears. Picard, however, had heard only one person in his life speak faster than her, and that was her mother.

“Why do you feel this way about me?”

“You matter so much to me and that comes first. I don’t want to lose you.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my family.”

“Why do you consider me that way?”

“Because I love you like how my mom loved you. She was too afraid to say it and you were too, but I’m not.” It was Picard’s turn to feel discomfort. He was never very used to people admitting they loved him, whether as family or as something more.

“I knew your mother even when she was a baby. I know she thought the crew was the family.” One word ran through Cecilia’s mind: no. He wasn’t getting it, which was only what she thought.

“It was different without. It was….deeper of a connection. It took her years to admit that to you. That you were really really what she considered family. It was a closer bond than anyone else in the crew.”

“I remember.”

“That’s….how I feel about you. Just a deeper connection.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know how to explain it, I just do. I don’t want to lose you. And when Dahj got mixed into all of this….I thought….after you yelled at me at the archives and told me to go home after we found her, I thought….you’d choose her over me and-and that she’d just be….my replacement.” Cecilia felt horrible with herself for admitting everything. Her biggest fear was always hurting those she cared about.

“Why would you think that?”

“I guess I’m an easy person to replace and you just….with her and Data being….she seemed to matter more to you.”

“Tell me, Cecilia, why did you come here four years ago?”

“To find you.” Picard knew that Cecilia was in no means an easy replacement. She was  _ irreplaceable _ .

“Why?”

“Because my mom sent me and I thought maybe I could find myself by meeting you the way my mom found herself and her life purpose by meeting you.

“Do you want to be like her?”

“Yes and no, at the same time. I look up to her so much as a role model, but I want to be my own person, too. I want to be like her, but like me too. I know that no matter where I go and no matter what I do, it keeps leading me right back here and I feel safer with you.” She instantly regretted the ending of that statement. Dahj had told him the same thing, but he couldn’t save her.

“Don’t look at your mom, now. Look at you.”

“You’re the only person who’s made me feel safe and not worthless in four years. You convinced me that I’m not the disappointment child and that I can be better than what I am. From that, I learned to not shut myself away anymore. You’ve made me believe that not everyone is going to just walk away and leave. You….you saved my life.”

“I did what I do to all people. I gave them a chance to tell their side of the story.” That was another internal blow to Cecilia. She wanted so badly to know if he felt the same way towards her. If there was even any  _ deeper connection _ .

“You don’t realize how much it affects people because you’re not just letting them tell their side of their story, you’re becoming part of their side of their story.”

“I seem to have that effect on people.”

“People like me.”

“I know you miss her and, trust me, I’ve been through the worst of times, but there’s  _ still  _ hope.”

“I feel bad about how I thought about Dahj because she didn’t deserve any….resentment from me. Is this now all like a redemption quest, trying to find her sister? Because it really doesn’t feel like it is.”

“Cecilia, if you resented her for that reason, then shouldn’t you resent so many others? Including your mother?” Cecilia nodded, lowering her head in shame.

“But I don’t want to. I don’t want to resent anyone. It’s the first time I ever have for that reason, and I don’t want to ever do it again.”

“Then be you, Cecilia.”

“How do I do that if I don’t know who I am?”

“Discover yourself.” Cecilia looked down towards the floor again, not sure how to do that. Seeing and feeling Cecilia’s uncertainty, Picard opened one of the drawers of his desk, pulling out a small, what looked to be, piece of paper. He turned it around so that Cecilia could see it. It was a picture. It was a picture of her mother. Her mother looked to be about fifteen or sixteen. She was wearing an actual Starfleet uniform. It was red, which wasn’t her normal uniform color. Vanessa’s hair was pulled back into two French braids. “This picture was taken when the Enterprise was hosting a Federation conference. I required everyone to be in uniform for all of our guests. It was a week from hell, but I learned quite a bit about your mother that week. Things I wouldn’t have learned otherwise. She discovered a part of herself just by letting events play out. Try doing the same. You may get a different result.” Picard gave Cecilia the picture. The Vulcan smiled at it a little bit.

“Thank you, Captain,” she said. He smiled slightly in response.

“Now, go get a good night’s sleep, alright? You deserve it.” Cecilia nodded in agreement, standing up from the chair.

“Goodnight, Captain.”

“Goodnight, Cecilia.”

“Also, whatever call you were debating to make before I came here, I think you should make it.” The Vulcan only knew this from her ability.

“We’ll see. Now, go back to bed.” Cecilia nodded and started heading back upstairs, knowing that the Admiral had already made his decision.

“What?!” Laris yelled, dropping the tea tray she was holding. Her reaction was not exactly desired, after Picard explained to everyone in the house what his plan was. “Have you gone mad?! Is it dementia?!”

“Excuse me?” Picard questioned.

“Sorry, but you’re not a stupid person, so when I hear you say such a stupid idea, I have to ask for other explanations,” she answered. Everyone moved to the floor to start picking up the broken pieces of the tea tray. Cecilia had never seen Laris blow up like that before.

“Well, how about this,” Picard started to answer. “The daughter of the man, whose death I have been mourning for over twenty years, comes to me for help and then she is assassinated in front of me by a Romulan death squad, who will then go and try to find  _ and destroy  _ her twin sister.” Zhaban and Cecilia exchanged awkward expressions. It was a similar situation as being over at a friend’s house when they begin to fight with other members of the household. It was extremely awkward. Picard, however, wasn’t finished. “And you want me to sit here worrying about what to do about the spittlebugs on the pinots?!”

“I want you  _ not  _ to die. No one except for the Tal Shiar can protect you from the Tal Shiar.”

“She’s not wrong,” Zhaban interjected. “You can’t go without us.” Laris threw a tea cup at him, making even Cecilia flinch.

“Idiot! He can’t go at all! He’s only safe here! He knows about them now, so they’ll have to exterminate him.”

“Nevertheless, I have to go,” Picard insisted. This was probably the first time in four years that Cecilia had stayed silent during a conversation between all of them.

“Go where? Go  _ how _ ?”

“I’ll get a ship and I’ll find Bruce Maddox, wherever he is in the galaxy. I have to do this, Laris.”

“We,” Cecilia finally spoke, causing them to look at her. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I’m going with you, wherever you may go.”

“We don’t fully understand the entire thing,” Picard continued to tell Laris, “but I know for sure that it’s important, not only to me.”

“No, of course,” Laris sarcastically snapped. “If it’s important to Jean-Luc Picard, then it must be important to the whole galaxy.”

“It’s important to  _ me _ ,” Cecilia almost cut her off.

“ _ You  _ are just following his lead.”

“No, I’m not. I’m making a decision for myself.”

“You’re making the same decision as him because you think he’s right about everything.”

“I’m making this decision for myself! I considered Data as my own flesh and blood relative and I watched my mother for my entire life! I watched her suffer from it for twenty years! I watched her long for even a single look at him just one more time! Now we find out that he has twin daughters and one of them has just been killed, but there’s a chance that the other one may be killed too. I won’t just stand back and watch my mother’s life reenact itself in my own. I’m going with him and I will defend both of us. We have to do this for a great good that can result from this.” Laris and Cecilia locked eyes, both looking that they were ready to murder the other.

“Go,” Laris finally answered, but she was speaking to Picard. “Take  _ that _ one with you,” she pointed at Zhaban, “and take  _ this  _ one with you.” Her finger moved to Cecilia. “You all can die together.” She walked out of the room furiously. Cecilia immediately began to regret the way she said everything. A door slammed a few seconds later.

“Dammit,” Cecilia muttered, moving a hand to her temples.

“Laris understands,” Zhaban was the first to speak. “She’s just afraid for both of you.”

“I know that. Cecilia?” There was a pause.

“I know that too. I just….snapped.”

“It’s alright, just be sure to apologize. Zhaban, you have to stay here with her. The grapes need more protection that the two of us do. And less than a month to the harvest.”

“But you two can’t do it alone. You need more help and protection. You need a crew. Riker, Worf, LaForge.”

“No. I thought about it and they would all do it in a heartbeat, but that’s exactly why I can’t ask them. They would put their lives at risk from their loyalty to me.”

“We could always call my mom,” Cecilia suggested. “She’ll help us out. More than anyone else.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I won’t do that to myself again. By God, I will  _ never  _ do that to myself or  _ you  _ again.” Cecilia was about to speak again, but Zhaban spoke before she could.

“You need someone who hates you and has nothing to lose.”

“I’ve already made the call. Cecilia, get your backpack and your walking stick. We’re not bringing Juno with us this time.” Having no room or position to negotiate, Cecilia did as she was told, and was ready within minutes. She didn’t know where they were going, but she felt prepared enough to be able to face it.

Once the transporter dropped them off, Cecilia immediately understood why Picard told her to take the walking stick. They weren’t walking on pavement or grass, but rather a very sandy terrain, as well as strong heat. Cecilia was suddenly grateful for wearing a sleeveless shirt. Picard had only a bottle of wine with him, while Cecilia had her entire backpack and her walking stick.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Right up there.” Picard motioned to a small hut just a little bit ahead.

“You have a friend here?”

“You could say that.” They walked until they were about thirty feet away from the house, until a woman with dark skin and bright, extremely curly brown hair exited the hut with a phaser pointed at them.

“You can call that cab to take you right back to where you came from.” Picard and Cecilia both put their hands up to pose less of a potential threat. Cecilia, though, only put up one hand, keeping the other one leaning on the walking stick.

“Just want to talk,” Picard said to the woman.

“There isn’t anything you could possibly say that I want to hear.” Picard shrugged and started to turn around. Cecilia stood there, looking between him and the woman.

“Secret Romulan assassins are operating on Earth.” There was a long pause, even as Picard was beginning to walk away. The woman looked over at Cecilia, who just stared back, unsure if she should follow the Admiral or not.

“Is that the ‘86?” the woman asked. Picard held up the bottle of wine in response. After a few seconds, the woman put down the phaser.

“Dammit,” she muttered. Picard turned around again, just to make sure he wasn’t about to get shot. The woman motioned for them to follow her into the hut. Cecilia waited until Picard reached her again.

“Part of your plan, I assume?” she asked.

“Always,” he replied. Cecilia smiled a little. “Her name, by the way, is Raffi.”


	3. Cross My Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter and for the delay. Been a bit crazy in my life recently, but I'm glad to have finished up this chapter. Big shout out to ada1987 who left a comment on the previous chapter that gave me some great inspiration for this one! Feel free to leave concrit, but again, please be nice! <3
> 
> Songs referenced to in the chapter go to their rightful owners. ( Caught up in You by 38 Special, and End of Time by Alan Walker)

Cecilia and Picard had taken seats on Raffi’s porch, as she moved around and began cutting leaves from a particular plant that was off to the side. Cecilia didn’t really know how Picard knew her, but she didn’t bother to ask questions either. An ally was an ally, even if a previous enemy. Picard explained the recent events in detail.

“A synth girl?” Raffi questioned.

“There’s two of them. One is dead,” he replied. “We hope that we can find the other in time. Raffi, we need a ship and a pilot, so that we can find Bruce Maddox.”

“Wow,” she responded after a pause. “I don’t even know what to say.” Cecilia could pick up a hint of, what sounded to be, bitterness in Raffi’s tone. She couldn’t tell if it was actually there, or if she was picking it up from her empathic ability. Either way, the Vulcan wasn’t sure if she particularly liked the sound of it.

“It’s a lot to take in-”

“The obvious way to go would be you’ve got some serious damn nerve, but you’ve probably already heard that from Clancy, right?” Cecilia’s feelings were confirmed at that moment. Picard and Raffi had to have had some type of bitter falling out. Raffi took the leaves she had been cutting from the plant and pushed them into a small stick, beginning to smoke the material. “For future reference, try _not_ telling the CNC of Starfleet exactly what you plan to do. I don’t remember you being so talkative way back when. I saw your interviews.” Picard and Cecilia slightly exchanged looks, but the Vulcan stayed quiet. “I saw you just sitting back in your very luxurious château. I’d show you around my estate, but that would be just so much more humiliating. But my life for the past fifteen years has been a continuous slide into humiliation and rage and snakeleaf-induced paranoia. Some things never change. Might have been nice to hear from you, every once in a while. Not because you think I know a particular pilot with an unregistered starship. Maybe just….to say hi. See how I was doing. Because I was _not_ doing good. I lost my security clearance. I lost….” Raffi cut herself off. She picked up the bottle of wine and started walking away.

“Raffi,” Picard called. Cecilia could feel all of the pent up anger and resentment that Raffi had for him. She had felt the emotion too, at one point in her life; the day she was expelled from Starfleet Academy. Raffi continued to walk away angrily, not turning back at all. Cecilia quickly stood up, grabbing her walking stick. “Cecilia, no. You don’t know her like I do.”

“She won’t talk to you. She’ll talk to me,” she replied, heading down the stairs after Raffi as quickly as she could.

“Let me handle it.” Cecilia whipped around.

“Let _me_ do something worthwhile instead of keeping me in the dark,” she snapped. After a few moments of silence, Cecilia continued to walk in the direction that Raffi had traveled.

The Vulcan reached the resentful woman within fifteen minutes. Raffi was sitting on a rock with the bottle of wine in her hand. Cecilia walked over to her, sitting down next to her.

“I don’t blame you for being pissed off with him,” she said. “Hell, I’d be pissed too if he hadn’t been there for me.”

“You don’t know what the world is like.”

“I know that life sucks a lot of the time.” Raffi sarcastically snickered at Cecilia, and she had every right to be upset at that moment. “I got expelled from the Academy four years ago for something another student did to me.”

“Let me guess, the no tolerance policy?”

“Pretty much, but he didn’t get expelled. Only I did. So yeah, I know that life sucks. But there’s something else that I learned.”

“And what’s that, kid? How much has it helped you out?”

“I learned that life does offer a second chance. Sometimes even a third. You just have to know what to do when you’re given that chance. I got my second chance from my mom when she sent me to find him. The first two years were bad, but it did get better. Who knows, maybe life is going to throw you another chance once he and I leave. I just know that it’s going to get better for you. You might not believe me right now, but that’s okay. If you ever need someone, just call me. I could’ve used that when I went down my rabbit hole. So, you know, maybe, I don’t know, you do too. You know, just call me if you need to talk to someone.” Cecilia stood up, with the assistance of her walking stick, and took about two steps away.

“Wait, kid,” Raffi’s voice stopped her. Cecilia turned her head a little. “How old are you?”

“Twenty.”

“You’re old enough, take a swig.” Raffi gave Cecilia the bottle of wine from the Picard vineyard. The Vulcan hesitated for a second, but took a drink from the bottle anyway. She never really preferred wine, but there was something to love about the wine from the Picard vineyard. She handed the bottle back to Raffi. “I have a pilot for you two. His name’s Rios. He’ll be in touch. And just….keep an eye out for a call. Go, kid. Tell Picard just to leave, too.” Cecilia couldn’t stop herself from smiling a little bit.

“Thank you. So much. And, hey, I’ll be expecting a call from you soon.”

“Just go.” Going with her walking stick, she started heading back to the path she had come from. Picard had actually followed slowly behind her, so she ran into him on the way back.

“We got a pilot, let’s go,” she said.

“When did-”

“Come on. Don't ask questions.” Not fully understanding what happened, Picard followed the Vulcan back towards where the transport had dropped them off.

The duo headed back to the château, and Cecilia was using Picard’s transmitter to contact their new ally only a few hours later. She sat on her bed, waiting to see if Raffi would answer her call. Juno sat on Cecilia’s lap, pretty much overtaking her. She waited to see if Raffi would answer her call. She wasn’t sure, since the transmitter ID read as “Picard” and not “Cecilia”. After a few minutes, Raffi answered the call.

“What?” she asked impatiently, not looking at who was calling her.

“I see you’re deep in research,” Cecilia replied with a smile. Raffi finally looked at the screen, after hearing Cecilia’s voice.

“I thought I said I’d call _you_ , kid, not the other way around.”

“Thought you could use someone to check up on you. I’ll have Picard send you everything we have on Bruce Maddox so you can continue.”

“I don’t want it.” Cecilia stood up from the bed for a minute, moving around to her open door.

“Hey, Captain!” she yelled downstairs. Raffi could hear her over the transmission. “Can you send Raffi the info on Maddox?! Thanks!” Cecilia walked back over to her bed with a smile, sitting down in the small space between Juno and her pillow. Raffi sighed.

“You’re a piece of work, aren’t you?”

“That’s what Picard says.” Cecilia knew she had such a stupid grin on her face, and she was determined to keep it there. Although Raffi didn’t show it, Cecilia knew that deep down, she was slightly amused.

“Whatever, kid.”

“Hey, I’m still expecting a call from you sometime instead of me calling you.” Raffi hung up, leaving Cecilia without a response. “I think that went well, right Juno?” Her dog just kept his head in her lap, loving the fact that he was getting to cuddle with his person. Cecilia smiled, happy to have her dog with her.

“Cecilia, let’s go! We’re meeting our pilot,” Picard called from downstairs. She grabbed a jacket and started running.

The young Vulcan and the retired Admiral beamed onto the unfamiliar ship not too long after Cecilia’s call. The transporter platform was directly in the middle of the ship. The cockpit was on a slightly lower level, which had a staircase leading down to it. The main area was large and spacious. The walls were mostly black or grey. It wasn’t Cecilia’s first time on a starship, but she personally preferred more color, even if it meant white or beige. She had a small smile on her face, mostly because she hadn’t been on a starship in four years. No one was in sight.

“Captain Rios?” Picard called. A man walked around the corner. He was wearing a white shirt with a black jacket.

“Oh, hi, hello,” he greeted.

“Picard,” the Admiral introduced himself. He and the man shook hands.

“Cecilia,” the Vulcan greeted with a smile, also shaking hands. “And you would be….?”

“I’m afraid you might be too late. Come on,” the man answered. Cecilia and Picard exchanged confused glances, but followed the man anyway, who had headed down the stairs to the cockpit. Another man was sitting in one of the control chairs, shirtless with a large metal object covered in blood lodged in his shoulder, which looked like a container of red paint had been poured over it. “So what seems to be the problem?” the first man asked with a hint of sarcasm.

“Are you kidding me?!” the second man snapped. He had a Spanish accent, which Cecilia immediately recognized, thanks to having previous friends who spoke Spanish. He turned slightly in his chair and saw the pair standing behind him. “Hey.”

“Are you….?” Picard began to ask.

“Chris Rios,” the man with the Spanish accent responded. “This one’s just an EMH.” _Emergency medical hologram_ ,” Cecilia thought to herself.

“ _Just_?” the EMH asked. He was quickly ignored, which bothered Cecilia internally a little.

“I’m-” Picard started to respond to Rios.

“I know who both of you are. I read one of your books once and she’s plastered all over Starfleet,” Rios replied, cutting Picard off. The Vulcan and the Admiral exchanged glances. Cecilia didn’t like this interaction. It was going too formally, yet informally at the same time. It was _awkward_.

“What exactly happened to you?” the Admiral questioned. There was a pause.

“I didn’t die.” The EMH pulled out a medkit. “Aguardiente.” Cecilia recognized the word immediately. A bottle of brandy appeared on the console in front of Rios. He turned, holding up the bottle as an offer to the pair.

“No, thanks.” Rios was about to turn to Cecilia. “She’s underage, she won’t take it.”

“Doesn’t she have a tongue to speak for herself?”

“Lo tengo y lo usaré,” she snapped, knowing that Rios understood her. She had a tongue and she’d use it. There was a pause.

“I like her.” Rios nodded in approval and then turned back to the EMH. “So you want to take the giant piece of titanium out of the hole where it’s lodged in my shoulder?”

“That’s pretty much it, as a guess,” the hologram answered.

“Please, sit,” Rios told the two who were watching him. Cecilia let Picard go first. He took the other control chair, passing the Captain’s chair. Cecilia, on the other hand, didn’t give a shit and instantly sat down in the chair of high power. The Admiral didn’t want her to.

“Dieu, aide-moi s'il te plaît,” he muttered to himself in French. _God help me please._ Cecilia heard him, and Spanish wasn’t the only language she knew.

“Je parle aussi couramment le français,” she answered. _I'm also fluent in French_. She and Picard held direct eye contact, his being somewhat frustrated, and hers being sarcastic. Rios was mostly just staring at them, mentally questioning what it was between them.

“So how many languages do you know?” he asked Cecilia.

“Seven,” she answered in English.

“Damn. Well, where are we going? Raffi says neither of you know.”

“We’re working on it,” Picard replied.

“When are we leaving?”

“Soon as possible.”

“Breaking any laws? Or intending to?”

“No promises,” Cecilia told Rios. “We don’t consult the law on a regular basis.”

“I don’t do much consulting with anyone about anything.”

“There we go,” the EMH announced, removing the piece of titanium from Rios’ shoulder. “And for the thermal regenerator-”

“Leave it.”

“He doesn’t get any nicer.”

“Noted,” Cecilia said to the EMH, making sure he wasn’t ignored again. Rios actually quite liked the vibe she gave off. She didn’t take anything from anyone, but also made sure that those who were considered as less, were treated as equal. The seven languages also sold it.

“Deactivate EMH.”

“We need a pilot and Raffi says you’re the best around,” Picard explained.

“I know to never argue with Raffi,” Rios responded, pulling a shirt on.

“Wise man. You were the XO of a heavy cruiser?”

“The Ibn Majid. You’ve never heard of it because it doesn’t exist. Starfleet erased it’s records.”

“Bitterness with Starfleet?” Cecilia asked, a small smile on her face. “You and I will get along just fine.”

“I plan on it, Siete Lenguas,” he told her. _Seven Tongues_. “But I really don’t give a damn about your relations with Starfleet.”

“Oh really?” Picard questioned. Cecilia instantly knew what he was thinking, and she didn’t like it. “This ship is flawlessly maintained. Every bolt and screw is perfectly fit into place. Everything is placed in the same regulation as Starfleet orders. I don’t know what happened to you or the Ibn Majid, but I know precisely what I’m looking at. You are Starfleet _to the core_.”

“That’s simply my tragic sense of life. Raffi warned me that you’re a speechmaker.” Picard was about to speak, but Cecilia cut him off.

“C'est assez. Arrête ça,” she said with a straight and stern face. _That's enough. Stop it._ There was a pause between all three of them.

“Look, hire me or find another pilot. Don’t try getting inside my head.”

While Picard had beamed back down to the château, Cecilia stayed on the ship for a little while longer with Rios, making sure as much of the ship was encoded directly into her memory. Rios quite liked her, after figuring out how sarcastic she could be. Slow jazz was playing throughout the ship.

“How old did you say you were, Siete Lenguas?” he asked. ‘Seven Tongues’ would now be his nickname for her.

“Twenty,” she answered.

“Ha, prime age for crazy shit.”

“Been there, done that.” Cecilia analyzed some of the navigational patterns, just to see what she could learn, while Rios examined a slightly glitching console.

“I’ll bet you have. I wasn’t kidding when I said you’re plastered all over Starfleet.”

“Really?”

“You’re known as a troublemaker, pretty much the what not to do model for new cadets.”

“Oh really?”

“That’s right, Siete Lenguas.”

“Hey, come on.”

“Hey, never said it was a problem because I honestly don’t care.” Cecilia shrugged in response.

“So what’s the deal with you towards Picard?” she asked.

“What?”

“You know, you don’t want to get close to another potential major figure in your life due to previous experience aboard that freighter you served on.” Rios was caught off guard by her accuracy, and he didn’t like it. He leaned away from the console and approached Cecilia.

“You tell me right now how the hell you know that,” he demanded in a rather intimidating tone. Cecilia, though, was not the average person and wasn’t intimidated by much. She was used to knowing things about people without having known them long enough.

“I’m partially empathic and telepathic. I know a lot more about random people than you think.”

“Stay out of my head.” Rios pointed a finger towards her.

“I’m technically not in your head yet. Going through thoughts is different than going based on feelings. Everything I told you was based on a feeling, and I assume now that the feeling was correct.”

“Then keep it to yourself, Siete Lenguas. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me.” He walked back to his console, but Cecilia had a small smile on her face. “People will kill you for saying things like that. Don’t get yourself killed, Siete Lenguas. You still have a while for it.”

“We’ll see. Also, your music is depressing. Put on something upbeat.”

“Then you look through the list and find something.” He tossed a small device across the room, which the Vulcan luckily caught. She started looking through the different songs. “Hey, I thought Vulcans were supposed to be all logical and monotone.”

“Half human. Besides, my mom doesn’t exactly follow tradition.”

“Good choice. Most traditions are meant to be broken.” Cecilia didn’t respond, but found a song she recognized. ‘Caught Up in You’ by 38 Special started to play through the ship. It was an upbeat light rock, which was a type of music that the Vulcan adored. “Good taste in music too, Siete Lenguas.” She, again, didn’t answer, but mouthed the lyrics of the song:

So caught up in you,

little girl

And I never did suspect

a thing

So caught up in you,

little girl

That I never want to get

myself free

And baby it’s true,

you’re the one

Who caught me, baby,

you taught me

How good it could be

“Got a boyfriend, Siete Lenguas?” Rios asked. Cecilia snickered at the question.

“Does it look like I have a boyfriend?” she replied with a very sarcastic tone. “The love of my life is my dog.”

“Ha. Good answer. Also, when you beam back, get me a time on when we’re leaving.”

“Got it.”

Cecilia beamed back down to the château a little while later. She had her backpack packed up. There were a couple of clothes, a few weapons just in case, and a couple of items that were important to her, including some pictures of her family. Everything that was destined to occur was a lot for the Vulcan to take in. She wondered what her mother would have thought. Would she still be the ‘disappointment child’? Would she still feel like she had to prove herself? Cecilia didn’t know. She looked out her window at the clear night sky. The air was crisp and smelled of the nearing harvest. Cricket chirps filled the air. With her backpack on, she climbed down the pipe next to her window and landed on the ground below. She began to walk into the vineyard, pulling a small bag from her backpack. She went through and started picking the grapes from the vines, only enough to fill up the bag. They would last a little while, and Cecilia figured she could work with them while they were out adventuring. She went through about six rows of grapes, picking off one or two every other vine. Once she filled the bag, Cecilia found a spot in a medium sized, yet strong, tree to sit in, giving her a full view of the vineyard, the château, and the night sky full of stars above her. It had been four years since she had traveled through those stars. She realized how stupid it was for her to have been traveling alone throughout the galaxy at sixteen. She had been so naive. Her mother had originally offered a transport so that she could go to Earth and find Picard, but Cecilia had stupidly denied it and found a sketchier way of transportation. There was a lot she regretted and a lot she wanted to make up for. No one knew the full depth of her feelings besides her. By all means, the Vulcan wanted it to stay that way; just have her own personal missions and own methods of completing them. Staring up into the stars, she closed her eyes, attempting to seek out a potential telepathic link. Her mother had always warned against doing this. It was the equivalent as communicating with a stranger without seeing them. It was a dangerous game, but, hell, how much more dangerous could it be compared to standing up to the Tal Shiar? She could hear everything start to echo around her, confirming that she had opened a mental link.

“Can anybody hear me?” she whispered, hearing her voice echo through the void of the sublevel internal consciousness. Telepathy was an extremely complex thing if one truly understood how it worked, and Cecilia was lucky to have learned every detail of the complexity from her mother. Connecting a randomized mental link, across lightyears and lightyears, required an internal pulse; something that Cecilia had to build over years of practice.

“I can hear you,” a male voice answered. The Vulcan smiled, instantly filled with so many questions for her new pen pal.

“Are you telepathic too?” she questioned.

“No, but….I can hear you in my mind.” Interesting. This current occasion was rare, but Cecilia _knew_ it had to have some meaning. “Are you telepathic?”

“Yes, and I’m also an empath.”

“You don’t find too many empaths anymore.”

“What’s your name?” There was a long pause. A very long pause.

“I’d prefer not to say my full name. I don’t know who you are.”

“Well, consider us as pen pals, you know? We can have different pen names for each other. Or, wait, what if I can guess your name?” There was a sound of protest about to come from her pen pal, but he had cut himself off.

“Three tries. I suppose this is similar to a game, and maybe it will relieve my tension.”

“Three guesses,” Cecilia repeated. She forced her conscious further into the link, bringing herself mentally closer to the pen pal. “Hmm, well, the first letter, I can tell, is….an _n_. Hmm. Could it maybe be….Nathan?”

“Incorrect.” Cecilia delved deeper, desperately wanting to know his name. It started with an _n_ for sure.

“Hmm. N….a….maybe, Nadir?”

“No. Last chance.” Cecilia took a good long moment to dig as deep as she possibly could into the void.

“It’s….some type of….kinda uncommon name. It starts with and _n_ for sure. N….a….r….e….k. That’s it. Narek. That’s your name.” There was another long pause. Narek didn’t respond, but Cecilia knew he was still there. She was so pleased with herself that she had discovered the name. There was a connection between them, she could just _feel_ it. Maybe one day they’d even meet. The Vulcan’s dreamed up scenarios soared throughout her head. “I like it, you know? Just by the sound of your voice, the name Narek seems to suit you. Do you want to know my name?”

“You can’t tell anyone else my name.”

“I don’t plan to. I’ve pen pal-ed with other people before, and I always make sure it stays between us. Still, do you want to know my name? I could tell you or maybe you could do the three guesses thing, you know?”

“Well, I suppose since you entertained me, I’ll play along. What does your name start with?”

“Hey, I didn’t ask questions.”

“You have the advantage of being telepathic, which I don’t have.”

“Hmm, well that is a good point. I guess I’ll go with it. My name starts with a C.”

“Christina.”

“Nope.”

“Were you named after something?”

“My mom’s mom. I’m apparently the spitting image of her. She died a long time before I was born.”

“So it could be considered as an older name?”

“It’s more popular on Earth than anywhere else.”

“Catherine?”

“Nope. Last guess.”

“Hmm, maybe….Cate?”

“Incorrect.” Narek sighed, finding this to be rather pointless, but very slightly amusing at the same time.

“Alright, then, what’s your name?”

“My name is….Cecilia.”

“Cecilia,” he repeated. He genuinely found her name to be quite beautiful. “It’s a pretty name. You’re right about it being found mostly on Earth.”

“I do have another question for you.”

“What?”

“What species are you? I’m guessing….Romulan.”

“Yes, actually.”

“Don’t you wonder what species I am? You’ll never guess it.”

“Vulcan?”

“Partially,” she responded with a tiny laugh. “My dad is fully human, but my mom is half human and half Vulcan. Well, she’s actually a little more Vulcan than human. But, hey, consider me half and half.”

“Oh.” Cecilia knew she was talking too much, but she couldn’t make herself stop. She also knew, though, that Narek seemed slightly uncomfortable knowing her race.

“I know, I know. Romulans don’t care much for Vulcans. Actually, quick question, how old are you?”

“How old are _you_?”

“I’m twenty.” Narek slightly chuckled at how young she was. In his mind, she had no idea of the world yet. “What? What was that little laugh?”

“You’re still just a baby in this world.”

“Well, how old are you?”

“A little older than you.”

“How much is a little?”

“Less than ten years.”

“Less than ten, but more than what?”

“Hm, more than five.”

“Wow, a difference of a few years, that makes you so much older and wiser,” she responded in a sarcastic, yet joking tone.

“You don’t know what knowledge other people hold.”

“Maybe I can find out.”

“We’ll see.” Narek’s statement sent her the message that he was ready to end this conversation.

“Can we talk like this again, sometime?”

“I….suppose so. When would we talk again?”

“I mean, I’m not sure. I’m going to be leaving Earth probably tonight.”

“Leaving for what?”

“A little adventure.” Cecilia closed the link between them, and then further closed the gap between her and the sublevels of the unconscious. She hoped that maybe someday she’d get to meet Narek. She started trying to visualize what Narek could possibly look like. Maybe he’d have dark hair, or even eyes that matched hers. Or maybe they’d look actually quite similar. She wouldn’t know until they deepened their relationship. She wanted to meet Narek. Staring up at the night sky, Cecilia started to hum a little bit of the song “End of Time” by Alan Walker. Alan Walker had been one of her mother’s idols. Cecilia sang a couple of the lyrics:

I wanna tell you how

I feel and really mean it

I wanna shout it from the

rooftops to the sky

Cause if you ever need a

friend, you know I’ll be there

From tonight until we see

the end of time

I’ll cross my heart and hope

to die

We’re always and forever,

I’ll be by your side

When days are dark and

stars don’t align

We’re always and forever,

til the end

The end of time

She stopped when she saw Picard’s silhouette walking out of the house and towards her tree. She didn’t move, as he approached her.

“Hi,” he greeted.

“Hey,” she replied.

“What are you doing?”

“Just thinking,” she replied with a shrug. “About everything.”

“Cecilia, if you don’t feel ready to take this on with me, then I will not blame you in any way if you choose to stay here.” The Vulcan moved so that she was still sitting in the tree, but now she was facing Picard.

“I had a feeling you would say that. I want to actually make you a promise, you know, before you try to talk me out of anything.” She could see Picard hesitate for a moment, but he then nodded a little bit, letting her know that she could continue. “I promise that no matter what, I’m going to be by your side the entire way through. Even if the days ahead of us get really dark and difficult, I’m always going to be right here for you. I won’t leave and if you need me to fall back on, then I’ll be there to catch you.” After a long pause, Picard stepped forward and took her hands in his.

“Cecilia, my dear, I could never ask you to make such a promise, especially to me. Your mother promised me the same thing; to always be there, and she held that promise for as long as she could. She would be very proud of you right now. I can’t guarantee what will or will not happen. I can’t guarantee safety.”

“I know, and I don’t expect you to. Even so, I want to be right at your side, so you know that you can fall back on me.”

“There’s nothing I can do to talk you out of it, is there?”

“No. Besides, I wouldn’t let you go alone.”

“That I know. And I am very grateful to have you with me.” Cecilia smiled a little. Picard slightly pulled her hands, then helped her down from the tree. She slung her backpack on and started walking back towards the house with the Admiral.

Cecilia knew that Juno couldn’t come with her for this so-called mission. It was the same as how Picard couldn’t bring No. 1. Cecilia hadn’t been anywhere without Juno in four years. He was her best friend. He was all she had. Juno was the only one there for her when no one else was. And now she had to leave him. She walked into the other room, where Juno was lying across the floor. He picked his head up when he saw her. She knelt down on the floor next to him, petting Juno’s ears.

“I’m going with him on a mission, Juno,” Cecilia told him. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I promise I’ll come back. I promise, Juno. So you’ve got to be a good boy for Laris and Zhaban. You’ve also got to look after Number One, make sure you two don’t get into any trouble. Okay? Can you do that for me?” Cecilia was near tears, trying to tell her friend goodbye. Juno didn’t fully understand why his person was sad, but knew only that she was sad and it was his job to make her feel better. He started giving her sloppy puppy kisses all over her face, making it more difficult for Cecilia to hold back her tears. “Thanks, Juno,” she managed to say. Slowly, she pulled a small stuffed animal out of her bag. It had belonged to her mother, and now it was hers. Cecilia looked at the stuffed animal for a few seconds, but then placed it in front of Juno. Her four legged friend stared at it for a few moments, but then got up and walked away. Juno returned quickly, a squeaky multi-colored bone in his mouth. He dropped it in front of Cecilia. Cecilia immediately pulled Juno into a tight hug, not wanting to let him go. “I love you, Juno,” she whispered in her puppy’s ear. Juno was the love of her life and it was more than difficult for her to say goodbye. “I promise I’ll come back. I promise.” Cecilia hesitantly let go, petting Juno’s ears one last time. They both had pointed ears, due to Cecilia being partially Vulcan. She took his squeaky bone off the floor, leaving her stuffed animal. She took a deep breath, making sure she wouldn’t cry, and walked back into the living room, shoving the squeaky bone into her backpack. Laris and Zhaban greeted Picard and Cecilia with a small sack of whatever else might’ve been necessary.

“You can’t forget this,” Laris told Cecilia, handing her the shortened walking stick.

“Thanks,” the Vulcan answered with a small smile. Just as Cecilia’s hand reached the handle of the walking stick, two beams of phaser fire shot past Zhaban’s head. The majority of the lights shut off. Juno was instantly at Cecilia’s side, as everyone rushed for cover.

“They killed the alarm,” Zhaban announced. Everyone grabbed whatever they could use as a weapon. The Vulcan was on high alert, and only had her walking stick, which she expanded to full length, as a weapon. She could always beat someone to death with it. Zhaban was the first to make a move. A glass broke as he took one of the Romulan intruders down. Laris was the next to attack, starting to shoot at whatever targets she could. One of the intruders slammed Laris into a window.

“Juno!” Cecilia yelled out. The German Shepherd leapt forward and slammed the intruder to the ground, giving Laris the opportunity to shoot. Another one started towards Picard, which gave Cecilia her chance to attack. She threw herself onto the intruder, causing both of them to hit the ground. She moved as quickly as she could and beat him with her walking stick until he wasn’t moving anymore. One snuck up behind her, slamming Cecilia’s face into the coffee table. She turned her body and rammed her foot into his chest, sending him back into the wall. He bounced back and slammed the edge of his weapon straight into her knee. Pain instantly shot up through her entire body. It was the same pain she had felt four years ago from her first knee injury. She cried out in pain, which immediately caused her dog to become even more alert. Cecilia managed to force the weapon out of the intruder’s hand. She was trying now just to keep his hands away from her neck, which she was starting to fail with. “Laris!” she screamed out. “LARIS!” The Romulan woman shot the intruder, getting him off of Cecilia, and then turned to the Vulcan’s injury. Laris pulled out her nano-healer, beginning to scan over Cecilia’s knee with it. It was designed for smaller injuries, such as cuts or minor burns, but it would have to do.

“Alright, alright, just keep the pressure on it right here,” Laris explained to Cecilia, whose eyes were watering and she had her hands tightly gripped around her limb. “I know, this is going to hurt.”

“Just do it!” Laris intensified the scanner’s power, causing the Vulcan to cry out in pain, as the bone in her knee was being forced back into place. The phaser fire went quiet a few seconds later. Cecilia had her hands curled into fists to the point that her knuckles were white, just to keep herself from crying out further. Picard, Zhaban and Juno all gathered around, just to make sure everyone was okay.

“Just a few more minutes with the scanner and it’ll pretty much be where it was,” Laris explained, referencing the bone. One more shot went off, causing everyone to look up, weapons drawn. Jurati turned the corner a few seconds later, a Romulan weapon in her shaking hands. She looked completely terrified.

“M-maybe it was on stun?” she stuttered.

“Romulan disruptors don’t have a stun setting,” Laris replied. Jurati quickly placed the gun on the ground.

“It’s alright,” Picard said, approaching Jurati in an attempt to comfort her. Laris turned back to Cecilia.

“One more swipe of the scan and some wrapping should do it,” she told the Vulcan.

“Do it,” Cecilia answered. Laris completed the swipe, which caused Cecilia to cry out again, and wrapped up her knee tightly.

“Alright, we’re good now. Here, try to stand.” Zhaban and Laris pulled Cecilia up on the floor, letting her sit and balance on the top brim of the couch. “Is the pain still there?”

“It’s really sore, but I think I’ll be able to walk in a few minutes,” Cecilia told her, slightly rubbing her knee.

“Alright, just take your time.”

About ten minutes had passed, and Cecilia was able to walk with a limp. Jurati was sitting on the couch, next to Picard, as he offered her a small glass of wine, which pretty much everyone silently agreed she needed to calm herself down. One of the Romulan intruders was still alive, so Laris had tied him down to a chair, as Zhaban moved the not-so-fortunate bodies out of the way. Cecilia listened in to what Jurati was saying.

“Her name was Oh,” Jurati told Picard.

“Starfleet’s Chief of Security,” he answered. “She’s Vulcan.”

“Have you met her?”

“No, but she’s apparently very good at her job.”

“She wanted to know why you and Cecilia came to see me and….and I’m sorry, but I told her. It seemed really important not to. I’m a terrible liar as it is.”

“Of course, it’s alright.”

“There’s one thing I didn’t tell her, though.”

“Admiral,” Laris interrupted, “he’s conscious.” Leaving Jurati on the couch, Picard walked over. The four of them surrounded the Romulan intruder, who was examining all of them.

“Let’s talk,” Picard said. “Why is the Tal Shiar operating on Earth? Are you Zhat Vash?” There was no response. “If you give us the answers we seek, I will release you.”

“This is pointless,” Zhaban commented.

“Yes, because he’s a stubborn northerner, like you,” Laris replied, flicking the intruder’s forehead. Cecilia could help but allow a very small smile to spread over her face.

“Why did you kill that girl? Why did you kill Dahj Asha?” Picard continued to question, making the atmosphere grow serious again.

“She’s not a girl,” the intruder spat back.

“Just help us to understand what is happening.”

“She’s not what you think she is.”

“Why did you kill her? Is there another one just like her? Where is she? Where is the other one?”

“You’ll never find her before we do!” The intruder added another Romulan word to the end of the sentence, but Cecilia didn’t recognize it. Laris did, as she slammed her fist into the intruder’s face. “She’s the Destroyer,” he breathed out, as Zhaban held him down by his neck. The intruder spat, causing the acid to land on Zhaban’s sweater. He quickly pulled the sweater off, as the acid was beginning to burn through. The acid had landed on the intruder himself, causing his own death. His body disintegrated into nothingness. Everyone in the room started to exchange glances. Cecilia was the first to speak.

“Damn.”

“You said that you told Commodore Oh everything about our conversation except for one thing,” Picard questioned Jurati, “what was that?”

“That I’m going with you,” she answered. “To look for Dahj. The other Dahj. You are going to look for her, right? That’s what Oh thought, that you were planning to get a ship and a pilot and go looking for the other one.” Picard was about to answer, but was interrupted by his comm going off. It was Rios.

“You’re early,” Picard said.

“Nope. My sources tell me it’s about to get very hot.”

“It’s already hot.”

“Hotter.”

“Is that your pilot?” Jurati asked. Picard nodded. Cecilia slung her backpack on and leaned on her walking stick. Laris gave her a look, silently questioning if she’d be okay. Cecilia nodded in response and mouthed ‘thank you’. “Okay, so, you have to take me with you and here’s why. A, I just killed a man to save you life. B, you are a good, decent man, capable of empathy and pity and I….am a scientist who has spent her entire life imagining a miracle, knowing that it could never come to pass, and now it has, and it’s real and I have to see her. And C, I don’t know how much it costs to go wherever you’re going or how much this guy charges, but I’m Agnes Jurati, Earth’s leading expert on synthetic life. If you take me with you, I promise that I’ll earn more than my keep.” There was a long pause between everyone.

“I’d take her with us just for making up that damn speech on the spot,” Cecilia broke the silence.

“Time to go,” Rios added. Within seconds, Picard, Jurati and Cecilia beamed onto the ship. To the Admiral and the Vulcan’s surprise, Raffi was sitting at one of the control panels.

“Raffi?” they questioned in unison.

“I found Maddox,” she answered, approaching them.

“Where is he?”

“I tell you, you promise you’ll take me with you?”

“I would be honored to have you join me.”

“Oh, no, no, I’m not _joining_ you. Never again. I’m just hitching a ride.”

“To where?”

“Bruce Maddox is on Freecloud.”

“Freecloud, yes, of course.”

“Why do you want to go to Freecloud?” Jurati asked.

“Have we met?” Raffi questioned in response, her eyes slightly narrowing at Jurati.

“Agnes Jurati,” she said, holding her hand out.

“That’s it?” Raffi asked Picard. “You’re just gonna let Agnes here hitch a ride on your top secret mission?”

“Doctor Jurati is Earth’s leading expert on synthetic life,” Picard told her. Cecilia was more just hanging in the back awkwardly. Rios, fortunately, motioned for her to go to a control panel, which she gladly did.

“Thanks,” she told him quietly.

“I can feel the awkwardness, Siete Lenguas.”

“You didn’t ask me to run a security check, not even the most basic,” Raffi argued.

“Why _do_ you want to go to Freecloud?” Picard asked.

“I’m under no obligation to tell that to any of you,” Raffi snapped.

“Damn,” Cecilia muttered, only loud enough for Rios to hear.

“And once we get there,” the fierce woman continued, you’re on your own.”

“Who are you, lady?” Jurati questioned with a smile.

“Can we go already?” Rios cut in. He and Cecilia were done feeling the awkwardness.

“Yes, fine,” Picard answered. Everyone took seats wherever they were needed. Cecilia looked back at Picard, waiting for the order that her mother used to hear on a daily basis. “Engage.”


	4. What He Left Behind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used/referenced to in this chapter or any chapter go to their rightful owners. No copyright intended. ( Basketcase by Green Day, The Boys of Summer by Don Henley)
> 
> Link to version of Boys of Summer that inspired me for this chapter (though I love the original as well):
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbKol1onroc

Fourteen Years Ago….

Vanessa Williams moved some of the pictures on her walls, just adjusting them to her new liking. Her six year old daughter played on the living room floor with a small stuffed animal, which was supposed to be a dog. Vanessa looked at the pictures of her family that she held so dear; her husband, her son, and her daughter. She smiled a little.

“Mama,” her little girl called. Vanessa instantly turned at the tone of her daughter’s voice. It sounded anxious, possibly even scared. Vanessa walked over to her, picking her up from the floor.

“What’s wrong, Cecilia?” she asked. Cecilia pointed towards their media screen. Vanessa’s eyes widened when she saw what Cecilia was pointing towards. She approached the screen closer. Synthetics had attacked Mars. They had completely gone rogue and attacked the people on Mars. The screen showed small clips of videos and various images. Vanessa instantly turned to her communications screen and started contacting her son and her husband. Her son answered first.

“Mom, I just heard about the attack,” he told her.

“James, where are you?” she questioned.

“I’m at the Academy. All cadets are basically being told to stay put exactly where they are. I’m with one of the professors right now.”

“James, listen to me closely. Stay with the professor and do whatever they tell you to do, okay? Don’t be a daredevil. We don’t know what’s going on.”

“Okay, Mom. I’ll be safe, I promise.”

“Good. I’m calling Dad now. Keep me updated. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom.” James hung up the call and Vanessa tried contacting her husband again. He finally answered.

“I’m on my way home now,” he told her, before she could say anything.

“Did they tell you anything at work?”

“No, they only showed the news clips. Did you call James?”

“Yes, he’s at the Academy. He’s safe right now.”

“Good. I’ll be home in fifteen minutes.”

“Stay safe, Thomas.”

“I will.” The call ended and there was an eerie, temporary silence that filled Vanessa’s house.

“Something bad happened, Mama,” Cecilia said to her, breaking the silence.

“I know baby, but we’re safe here. Nothing bad can hurt you as long as I’m here. I will always protect you. Here, let’s call Captain Picard and make sure he knows that he has to stay safe, okay?” Cecilia nodded in response. Vanessa started dialing a number that she called every day, but never heard a response from. Maybe this would be the day that would change. “Captain Picard, it’s me, Vanessa. If you are receiving this message, then chances are, you’ve already heard of the current news. Mars has been attacked by Synthetics. Wherever you are, wherever you may go due to this event, please, try to be safe….”

Present Day….

The ship was speeding through space at warp speed and everyone was pretty much off doing their own thing. Rios had been sitting and ready in the captain’s chair, while Cecilia stayed in one of the control panels, blasting her music and staring at Juno’s chew toy. She already missed him. Jurati bounced to the cockpit, obviously having nothing better to do.

“Hi,” she greeted. “Oh, wait, you’re reading, I won’t-”

“Be my guest,” Rios answered, motioning towards the other control panel seat. Cecilia subtly turned her music down, so that she could hear the two of them, but made sure to keep her eyes away so she wouldn’t look suspicious.

“So….” Jurati started, “space turns out to be super boring.”

“What were you expecting?”

“I don’t know. It’s really….empty. I mean, of course, right? It’s right there in the name: space. It’s not called ‘vast quantities of stuff’. Although, there are over three billion stars in just our galaxy alone and ours is one of two trillion. There are a septillion known planets, so maybe it should be called ‘vast quantities’ of stuff.” Cecilia couldn’t help but smile just a little bit. This was a little amusing, especially since she had once thought the same way. “Why focus out the negative? I caught up on two years of back problems of the Journal of Theoretical Cybernetics, including the Festschrift for Professor Kwok. I watered your plants. You’re welcome. I was going to watch a holo, but all you have on board is Klingon opera.”

“Long story,” Rios finally responded. Cecilia turned away a little, almost completely losing it. It was a perfect response.

“I used to live with a guy who liked paper books. I bothered him too.” Rios closed the book he was reading.

“What did he used to do about it?”

“He was my dad.” Cecilia’s smile started to fade, as she thought to her dad. He had always been so supportive of her, which she always appreciated. “He had to put up with it. What’s your book about?”

“The existential pain of living with the consciousness of death and how it defines us as human beings.”

“Well….that’s not a conversation killer at all. I totally want to talk about the existential pain of living with the consciousness of death.” Cecilia was about to get up and leave those two alone, but Raffi’s voice cut her off.

“RIOS,” she yelled out, using a voice that could only be described as an angry mother. “I just checked the nav logs. Where the hell are we going?!” she questioned.

“Says he needs to make a stop,” Rios answered calmly. 

“He  _ needs  _ to?!”

“Picard?” Jurati tried to cut in.

“What stop?” Raffi continued to ask, ignoring Jurati.

“Vashti, in the Qiris sector.”

“Vashti. Man can’t even take a guilt trip without using a starship.”

“Where’s Vashti?” Cecilia finally spoke.

“You’re going to find out, Siete Lenguas.”

Picard had taken the opportunity to customize the holodeck exactly how his study looked back home. Everything was perfectly accurate.

“Hold,” he said aloud.

“Is it inaccurate?” the hospitality hologram asked.

“Everything seems absolutely correct in every aspect.”

“We rebuilt your study to the exact specifications. Your Mr. Zhaban supplied me with the holoscans. He thought you might feel more at home.”

“It seems odd that a working ship has a hospitality hologram.”

“I came with the basic installation, sir, but you’re right, hospitality emergencies are very rare here. The captain….keeps his own company.” The chime on the door rang.

“Come.” Raffi trudged in, Cecilia following behind her.

“You want to go to Vashti?” Raffi immediately started to question. “Are you out of your damn mind?” Rios walked in next, which made Mr. Hospitality disappear.

“I hate that hospitality program,” he said.

“That you even suggest it makes me question your mental state,” Raffi further argued. Cecilia stayed in the back again. It was an awkward situation for her, like watching a friend fight with their parents while she was standing there. However, she wanted to know exactly what Picard’s plan was going to be. “The idea of going there isn’t just bad, it’s  _ bizarre _ .”

“Look,” Picard began his side of the debate, “Dahj’s sister is in grave danger. She may already be dead. I am as eager to get to Freecloud as you are.”

“Did I ever say I was eager to get to Freecloud?” She turned to Rios. “Do I seem eager to you?”

“I would say more….apprehensive,” Rios answered cautiously.

“Look, I’m gonna be straight with you,” Raffi turned back to Picard.”

“Well, that will make a refreshing change,” Picard shot back. Cecilia’s eyes went wide, as she tried desperately not to make a sound. Jurati walked in before anyone else could answer.

“Oh, is this a secret meeting?” she asked. “Or am I technically part of the crew now?”

“Please, Doctor Jurati, join us. Raffi here was questioning my sanity.” Cecilia turned away, tears almost burning her eyes. It was awkward, but it was also hysterical. She had never seen Picard be so sarcastic before.

“You know what? Fine. Let’s go to Vashti. Check out that big statue of you, they must’ve put up at least one,” Raffi replied with an equal amount of sarcasm.

“If they did, someone’s probably stolen it by now,” Rios commented. “The Qiris sector is sketchy nowadays. Serious power vacuum. Smugglers and petty warlords, like Kar Kantar, basically run the place. Kantar got hold of an old Bird of Prey somewhere and has been running wild from Vashti to Daimanta.”

“You didn’t  _ already  _ tell him that?! He said ‘lay in a course for Vashti, Rios’,” Raffi snapped back sarcastically. “And what, you just obeyed like a good Starfleet officer?”

“I assumed he knew.”

“The Qiris sector is in the Fenris Rangers’ territory,” Picard interjected.

“Was. The rangers don’t have the resources to keep up with it anymore,” Rios said.

“The Vashti is also a hotbed for the Romulan Rebirth movement,” Raffi reminded. “But you’re just going to drop in and pick yourself up a nun.”

“Woah, what?” Cecilia finally spoke up, looking between Raffi and Picard. “What the hell is this all about?”

“JL wants to hire an assassin.”

“They aren’t assassins and you can’t hire them,” Picard objected. “The Qowat Milat have to  _ choose  _ you.”

“Romulan warrior nuns,” Rios translated.

“I know-knew some Qowat Milat. On Vashti alone, they helped Raffi and me relocate more than a quarter of a million refugees. They’re also the most skilled single-combat warriors that I have ever seen. They’re the most feared enemies of the Tal Shiar.”

“Sounds like you owe them more than they owe you,” Rios commented. Cecilia cocked an eyebrow, going over the thought in her head. There had to be  _ something  _ that Picard was really after. She could feel it. “What makes you think they’ll help you now?”

“They have their own requirements for whether to give or withhold their assistance to a particular cause.”

“And what are those requirements?” Jurati asked.

“Let’s just say that I’m positive they will find our cause worthy of their help, and if not, they’ll straightforwardly tell us with the Way of Absolute Candor.”

“What’s that?”

“Their primary teaching. It is total communication of emotion without any filter between what they say and what they think. It runs against everything the Romulans believe. Cecilia, I believe, would find the teaching very easy to follow.” Oh, he did  _ not _ . Cecilia let her eyes narrow.

“Hey,” she snapped back. Picard shot her a look, confirming his previous statement. “Oh, really? Wow, okay, then.”

“You have a tendency of not having a filter, Siete Lenguas,” Rios started to agree.

“You stay out of this. I’m not the one who’s having us go to some God forsaken planet to pick up a Romulan warrior nun who  _ may  _ or  _ may not  _ agree to help us and won’t have a problem telling us to screw off.”

“You laid it out as straightforwardly as they would,” Picard replied calmly. He found it somewhat amusing that she was getting frustrated, because now she finally understood how he felt the majority of the time. She shot him a look, but then quickly gave up on the argument.

“Whatever. To hell with it. Let’s go.” She was the first to exit the room, but she was too embarrassed to notice that no one immediately followed her.

Cecilia stayed in one of the quarters, trying to cool down from earlier. She had been frustrated with Picard for a while and it had finally come out. He was keeping her in the dark. The Vulcan had never been one to  _ stay  _ in the dark. She was once again blasting music through her earbuds. This time, she was listening to her favorite band, which had also been her grandmother’s favorite band: Green Day. Their song ‘Basket Case’ was currently what she was blasting:

Do you have the time

to listen to me whine

About nothing and

everything all at once?

I am one of those

melodramatic fools

Neurotic to the bone,

no doubt about it

Sometimes I give myself

the creeps

Sometimes my mind plays

tricks on me

It all keeps adding up,

I think I’m cracking up

Am I just paranoid or

am I just stoned?

Cecilia had asked a few of those questions to herself on multiple occasions. It had been a long four years of questioning who she was or could be. She sighed, not sure what else to do.

“Cecilia?” a familiar voice echoed throughout the room. Cecilia quickly sat up, knowing that she was the only one hearing the voice.

“Narek,” she said, trying to keep a smile from forming. “How did you connect the link? You’re not telepathic.”

“I didn’t connect the link. I just knew that you were there.”

“Maybe I connected it without realizing.”

“Possibly.”

“I’m glad to hear from you again. I normally don’t hear from the same people twice.”

“Hm, that’s interesting.” There was a pause between them. Neither really knew what to say to each other.

“I’d like to know more about you,” Cecilia broke the silence. “Your name is Narek, you’re a Romulan, and you’re a little older than me. That’s about all I know.”

“There isn’t much else to know.”

“Of course there is. Where do you live? What’s your job? Do you  _ have  _ a job? Where did you go to school? What’s your family like? There’s so much more to know.”

“You are very full of questions.”

“I always am. Will you answer any of them? It could be like the game Twenty Questions.”

“Well, frankly, I don’t have time for twenty questions.”

“What about….ten questions?”

“Less than that.”

“Five?”

“Three.”

“Three each?” There was another pause.

“Alright, fine. Ladies first.”

“Hm, first question….do you have any family?”

“I had a brother, once. I have an older sister. What about you?”

“Well, my mom and dad still live on Vulcan. I have a brother who’s married with twins, but we haven’t heard from him in a long time.”

“You seem close-knit.”

“Yeah, we were. It’s your turn to ask me a question.”

“You said that you were leaving Earth. What’s your destination?”

“There’s kind of two destinations, at the moment. The first one is a little planet that was big for the Romulan relocation. The other one is a little bit farther than that.”

“No specifics?”

“We’ll get there when we get there,” she replied with a smile. Narek hadn’t given her any specifics, and she didn’t fully know him either. Cecilia still had to be a little bit careful.

“I see.”

“Where do you live now?”

“In space. Romlan territory.”

“Isolated, I see. I assume at a station or something?”

“Possibly. Who are you traveling with?”

“Some close friends. Had to leave my dog at home, though.”

“Ah, I see.”

“That dog is the love of my life.” She heard Narek snicker, and something about that little laugh reached deep into her heart. She felt such a connection with Narek and couldn’t begin to explain it. Maybe she was just desperate for a new friend, or maybe it was something truly special.

“It’s your last question now.”

“What do you look like?” There was a long pause. Cecilia continued to wait in curiosity, but then thought about a possible alternative than a verbal description. “If you deepen your mind within the link, I can see your features. It wouldn’t be super clear, but it would give me a general idea.” There was still no answer from the Romulan. “Narek?”

“You’re….sure?”

“Positive. Besides, if I saw you clearly, you would know. You can tell when someone sees you mentally whether it’s clear or not. Do you trust me?” As soon as her sentence left her mouth, she was unsure if that was an appropriate question to have.

“Alright. Just once.”

“Okay. Just deepen your mind. You won’t be able to see me, but you’ll know I’m there.” Everything went quiet, as Cecilia felt the greater pull from the link. The outline of Narek’s head, hair and face came into her mind in a blurry image. He had long, dark locks of slightly ruffled hair and pale skin. His ears were finely pointed to a Romulan tip, just a little less sharply pointed than Cecilia’s Vulcan ears. He had some scruff on his face, but she couldn’t see the fine details of his face. She wanted to see his eyes so badly, but she couldn’t make the feature any clearer. The pull weakened and the image faded from her mind. Cecilia was smiling. “I saw you,” she told him.

“I know. You were right. I felt you here, with me, just in my mind.”

“I’m glad I got to see you. It puts more of a face to the voice, you know?”

“I still have my last question.”

“Ask away.”

“What do you-” Narek’s voice was cut off by another; one that was coming from inside the ship.

“Cecilia,” Picard called.

“I’ll return,” Cecilia promised, then severing the mental link. She hurried out to the cockpit, where she knew everyone else would be. She was, internally, yearning for a free moment where she could contact Narek again. She wanted to know what his last question was. She approached Picard, who was standing off to the side.

“Welcome to Vashti,” he said to her. Rios came up on Picard’s other side.

“Used to be home?” he asked the Admiral.

“Of a sort. For a moment. Security?” the Admiral turned to Raffi. Rios and Cecilia exchanged glances, but neither said anything to each other.

“Standard Romulan planetary defense systems,” Raffi explained. “Bought secondhand. The Fenris Rangers helped them install it. Primitive, but effective. It has your basic impenetrable shield of orbital killer drones. Every thirty minutes, a transit zone opens up randomly somewhere in the network. You have a minute to pass through if you’re cleared. Without clearance, you’re greeted with immediate kill-fire.”

“Do we have clearance?” Cecilia asked.

“So far, no. I’m working on it.”

“Call Central Station and tell them it’s me,” Picard responded.

“We did. They weren’t impressed,” Raffi shut his option down.

“Well, then. Suggestions?”

“We could use my mom’s Starfleet security clearance,” Cecilia suggested. “I’m her child, so technicality shouldn’t make too much of a difference this time.”

“Absolutely not,” Picard replied. “If that clearance is tracked, that puts your mother in potential danger and it could cost her the position she currently holds.” Cecilia looked at the other two, and they instantly understood her expression. It was quiet for a few moments. Rios was the first to speak.

“A cash gift is always appropriate.”

A little bit later, Cecilia and Picard beamed down to the city square. She had her walking stick in hand, due to the surface being mostly sand, and her backpack on. It was a beautiful planet, but the city itself looked and felt….dusty. The atmosphere wasn’t exactly welcoming. Maybe at one time, it had been, but now it was far from it. Picard greeted people using the Romulan word for hello, but he was mostly ignored, or given strong glares in return. There were signs everywhere that read ‘Romulans Only’. Cecilia had never seen such discrimination before. In fact, she never realized that it truly existed. She began to feel more and more uncomfortable, despite having her second most trusted friend right at her side (Juno being her most trusted friend). She felt almost like a little kid in an unfamiliar place, hanging tightly to their parents’ side, as so they would not lose their protective shield. Her appearance didn’t help much, either. Her pale skin, bright red hair and vibrant green eyes made her stand out from everyone else in that city square, or maybe even the city itself. There was nowhere for her to lie low. Picard led her to a small area off to the side. It was a small, rickety branch under a purple-ish red tree.

“Stay here and wait for me. I’d prefer to handle going to the Qowat Milat on my own. If anything happens, just head back up to the ship and contact me about your whereabouts,” he explained.

“Captain, I really don’t feel comfortable with that. I think it would be better if I went with you,” she started to argue. Cecilia didn’t want to be by herself in this atmosphere, surrounded by potentially dangerous people.

“No. It’s not just about me going by myself. It’s also about your physical ability. The way up to the Qowat Milat sisters’ temple would be quite difficult for you. I don’t need you to be unable to possibly defend yourself. If you stay here, I know that you’ll be fine.”

“I’m just not sure if that’s a good idea.”

“Cecilia, I promise you that you’ll be alright. I trust you being here.” Cecilia knew she wasn’t really going to end up winning the argument and it was going to be a waste of time to continue debating.

“Okay,” she hesitantly agreed.

“You will be able to contact me at any time if things go bad. Just keep your eye on the time if you need to go back to the ship.”

“Okay,” she repeated. Picard smiled at her one more time before walking towards the path that would lead him to his destination. He hadn’t looked long enough to see that Cecilia’s smile wasn’t real.

* * *

Picard walked the scenic route until he reached the Qowat Milat temple. He knew Cecilia would have appreciated the view and the beauty surrounding the temple, but he still truly believed that it was better for her to stay in the square. He had so much unfinished business that rested here. There were so many memories; good and bad. He wondered about what he had left behind in this small temple fourteen years ago. Picard entered the open temple, some of the Qowat Milat sisters turning as he walked in. They all had once known him; the great Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, the saving grace of the Romulan Relocation Effort, but that was a long time ago, and that title existed no longer. Picard approached one of the sisters. She was the one he knew best.

“Jolan tru, Qowat Milat,” he greeted with a smile.

“Jolan tru,” she replied, folding her hands and then opening them so that her palms were open to the Admiral. It was a traditional welcome.

“Jolan tru,” the other sisters repeated. The woman approached him further.

“You got old, Admiral Picard,” she told him.

“You didn’t,” he answered.

“I remind you, this is a house of truth.” They smiled at each other, but the woman’s smile quickly faded, her expression turning bittersweet. “I thought we would never see you again.” Picard thought over his request for another second, but then came forward with it.

“I don’t have the right, but I need your help one final time.” There was a loud thud, startling both of them and causing them to turn in the direction of a shield of curtains where the thud came from. A young Romulan male stepped aside, apologizing in the Romulan language for tripping on something. He and Picard locked intense gazes as soon as they saw each other. The Admiral knew the young man’s name far too well. His name was Elnor. He had long dark hair and wore midnight blue comfortable battle wear. It held no armor, but was plush enough to wear both for battle and personal wear. The last time Picard had seen Elnor was fourteen years ago, when Elnor had been a mere ten years old. Picard had many memories of him as just a young boy, but these memories were causing a particular thought to surface into the Admiral’s mind: the redhead Vulcan, who was around the same age as Elnor, waiting down in the city square. And it wasn’t a good thought, either.

Picard and Elnor found an open area off to the side, so that they could discuss everything in private. There was much they needed to talk about, but Picard had mostly ignored that and chose to explain his current situation. At first, the Admiral was unsure how a Qowat Milat bound themselves to a cause.

“You tell a story, I listen,” Elnor replied to Picard’s question.

“I’m not very good at stories.” The young Romulan’s expression let Picard know that he didn’t have much else of a choice. “I once had a friend named Data. He died to save my life.”

“I remember you telling stories about Data. He had an orange cat named Spot.”

“Yes, he did.”

“I’ve never seen a cat before.”

“If you come with us, you might see a few. Recently, I discovered that he had two offspring. One was murdered. The other is in serious danger. I owe it to Data to find her before the Tal Shiar do.”

“You’re explaining why you need  _ someone  _ to help you. But why do you need  _ me _ ?”

“Because you’re one of the only people I trust enough to help me. It seems that my quest has the appropriate criterion. Will you come with me?”

“You left me here. You forgot about me. Now, the only reason you come back is because you have a use for me?”

“I did not leave you. I had no choice.”

“You could have come back.” Elnor pulled an old, crinkled, paper photograph from his pocket. “You left this behind all those years ago. All those years of wondering if you’d come back for it. If you would come back for me. Did you go back for her? Why did you leave her in the first place? Was it for the same reason you left me here?” The Romulan held up the picture so that the Admiral could see it. It was a picture of Cecilia when she was about four years old. She was standing next to Picard, who was kneeling down in the picture. Her arms were wrapped around his neck in a hug, a huge smile covering her face. Her hair was curlier back then and her freckles were darker. Once Picard saw the picture, an expression of defeat swept over his face. “ _ Who is she _ ?” Elnor demanded.

“I lost you all those years ago….just like I’ve lost her,” Picard finally answered. That didn’t give Elnor his answer. The Romulan had studied that picture night after night, wondering and questioning if they had the same fate, wondering if they’d ever meet, wondering who in the galaxy she was.

“You left her too, then? Why, for the same reason?” Elnor had truly every right to be mad and upset. He had so few people in his life, and Picard had been one of those people, until he left and never returned. He had every right to know who the girl in the picture was that he had held on to for fourteen years.

“I left her because if I had stayed, I would’ve ruined her life too. Her life, her mother’s life, I couldn’t ruin your lives by having you around me.” The room went quiet for a few minutes. Elnor stood up and angrily walked away, leaving the picture behind. Picard’s comm went off.

“Captain?” Cecilia’s voice said.

“Yes?”

“I’m heading back up to the ship. You told me to let you know, so….”

“Okay, I’ll be….right behind you.”

“Alright, do you want me to wait?”

“No, I’ll catch up.”

“Okay, Cecilia out.” The comm shut off.

* * *

Cecilia sat under the tree, just as Picard had told her to. She received many hateful glares or disgusted glances. She forced herself to ignore them. She had one earbud in, not daring to disable her hearing completely. It would make it too easy for someone to sneak up on her. The Vulcan was uncomfortable and lonely; two things that should never mix. In her loneliness, Cecilia felt a pull from the void of consciousness. She instantly knew what it was.

“Narek?” she spoke mentally, not aloud. He would still be able to hear her.

“Cecilia,” he responded. “Are you alright? You left so suddenly.”

“I’m sorry. We reached our first destination and I needed to beam down quickly.”

“Where is your destination, again?”

“I’m on-” Cecilia cut herself off. She had a difficult choice to make. She still didn’t know who Narek was and she wasn’t sure if she should reveal their location. “I’m on Vashti.”

“Vashti? Why would you be there?”

“My friend is visiting one of their relatives that they haven’t seen since the Romulan Relocation.”

“I take it that your friend is Romulan?”

“Yes,” she lied. “It’s not a good atmosphere here.”

“I can imagine.” Cecilia went quiet, not sure what else to say. Narek, however, wanted to keep her talking. “What do you see?”

“It’s a beautiful planet, if you take the time to look around.”

“Tell me.”

“I’m sitting under a tree. It has purple-reddish leaves. It’s pretty in the sun. There’s sand everywhere. The sunlight is kind of reflecting off the sand so it’s making it really bright and warm. There’s little plants growing everywhere.”

“What about the people? Are they equally as beautiful?” Cecilia looked around, examining each person she saw.

“They could be,” she answered softly. “If they were given a chance to fully bloom, then yes, they would be equally as beautiful. It’s almost sad. You can tell that all of these people once were flourishing, despite their living here being temporary. But now it’s just turned to crime and isolation. It’s just very sad.”

“It’s what happens to most beautiful places in the galaxy. They wilt, and eventually they die.”

“Unless they’re rejuvenated.”

“Not everyone can be.”

“But there can be a chance if someone tries to put in the effort.”

“You still truly have hope for the rest of the galaxy.”

“Hope is what’s needed to drive people. Whether it’s false, true, part of a religion, or just somehow manufactured.”

“Not many people believe in hope anymore, Cecilia.”

“Well, you have to believe in something, even if that means you believe in nothing.” There was a pause between them. Narek felt drawn to her, while before it had been vice versa. She seemed to be….innocent, something he no longer was. He lost his innocence long ago. He had tried to imagine her in his mind, without deepening the link. She saw him, and now he wanted to see her too. “Narek?”

“I still have that last question for you, Cecilia.”

“Oh, I forgot about that.”

“I want to ask you.”

“Ask away.”

“What….do you look like?” A small smile formed on Cecilia’s face.

“Do you want to see me clearly, or as I saw you?”

“You choose.”

“Okay. Deepen the link between us. Focus solely on my voice. It’ll help you to better visualize me.” Cecilia could feel the pull deepening from both sides.

“I can hear the music your listening to. I don’t know the song, but I can hear the words.”

“It’s called ‘The Boys of Summer’ by Don Henley. My mom always loved the song.”

“I can….see the outline of you.” Narek could see the image in his mind start to become clearer. He could see the sun that illuminated the Vulcan’s pale skin. The lyrics of the song were playing louder, as if the earbud was in his ear and not so many lightyears away:

I can see you

Your brown skin

shining in the sun

You got your hair

combed back

And your sunglasses

on, baby

I can tell you

My love for you will

still be strong

After the boys of

summer have gone

Her bright red hair came into focus. It was highlighted by the sun, blowing freely in the gentle breeze. Narek could see her green eyes, and was immediately captivated by them. There were tiny freckles under her eyes, right on the tops of her cheeks. Cecilia heard him inhale sharply. She could feel him there, watching her and taking in the features of her face little by little.

“What’s wrong?” she asked after a few moments passed.

“Nothing’s wrong. I see your face and your features.” The pull lessened and Narek’s presence faded, although he was still there mentally.

“Do I look how you imagined me?”

“Not exactly.”

“Is that a good or bad thing?”

“You’re….” Cecilia’s heart skipped a beat, hoping maybe he would confirm a connection between them, “....better.” Better. Just better. She didn’t quite understand how to take that. He didn’t say prettier, or more beautiful, just  _ better _ .

“Oh, I see.”

“Thank you.”

“Maybe one day I could see you clearer.”

“Maybe soon.”

“Okay.” Narek’s presence faded completely and left Cecilia lonelier than she had been before his call. The discussion didn’t feel right. She felt more seen than she wanted. She took her earbud out of her ear, shoving it into her backpack. She was about to stand up from the bench, but she caught sight of three Romulan men approaching her. Her hand immediately went to her walking stick. It was the only potential weapon she had with her. The three men eyed her hatefully. There wasn’t anywhere for her to go or get away. “I have no quarrel with you,” she spoke up. One of the men stepped forward, approaching her. He was tall and had dark, ebony skin.

“You can call me Tenqem Andrev,” he greeted. His voice was rough, but not scruffy.

“We’ve never met,” Cecilia stated, keeping a straight and confident expression, even though it was a lie. She was nervous, but knew that she couldn’t afford to show it.

“No, I don’t believe we have. However, you are right. Although there is much you and I could quarrel about, I have no quarrel with you.”

“Then why do you approach me?” Her heart felt as if it were pounding in her throat.

“The person you beamed down with. What’s your relation?”

“Traveling companions. I take it you know, or knew, him?”

“He and I met once. A lifetime ago. I had been a Romulan Senator.”

“I see.”

“Then you understand the weight of what you’re dealing with when you associate yourself with him?”

“Neither he nor I can be held responsible for the decisions of Starfleet as a whole.”

“Hm.” Andrev motioned for Cecilia to follow him to the ‘Romulans Only’ bar that she had passed earlier. Very hesitantly, she started to follow them, making sure to keep a strong grip on her walking stick. She checked the time. Nine minutes until the next transporter opening window. She activated her comm, whispering ‘ _ nueve _ ’ at a volume that only she could hear. Rios, hopefully, would get her message and beam her up as soon as possible. Cecilia was met with numerous glares when she entered the bar with Andrev and his two minions. They sat down at a table.

“I’m not quite sure what you want with me,” the Vulcan admitted.

“It’s not what I want with  _ you _ , it’s what I seek from whom you are associated with.”

“I already told you, there’s nothing we can immediately do. We can’t go back and change what happened, even though we want to.”

“Listen, you don’t understand. The Romulan Relocation was more than just a movement. It was a full  _ migration _ . Your Admiral gave up on trying to save anyone else. The Federation gave up on trying to save us, due to our race. No other species would understand.”

“Every species within the Federation faced troubles when it came to either supporting or disregarding the Relocation. Many wanted to help and did try to. Events, unfortunately, caused resources to run dry.”

“Are you a Starfleet member?”

“Not anymore.”

“It seems that they’ve seared it into your head that everyone had a part in this.”

“I’m not saying that.”

“It appears that you are.”

“Look, what do you want from me?”

“I want your aid in showing your Admiral that he is responsible for the events so long ago.” Cecilia’s eyes narrowed and her grip tightened on her walking stick. This was a bad situation that she needed to get out of.

“We will be leaving Vashti soon. There’d be no time or reason for you to do anything.”

“A few moments is all that is needed.”

“And what exactly are you planning to do?”

“Prove to him that he once had power, but it exists no longer.” The Vulcan instantly knew what was meant by that. She didn’t like it. Her eyes narrowed again.

“You truly believe that I would betray him?”

“If convinced correctly, anyone will do anything.”

“You haven’t convinced me.” Andrev leaned forward, his forearms resting on the table.

“You have no idea what I can offer. I can get you passage wherever you want, take you to find whoever you’re searching for. There are ways to get you money, popularity, a life of richness. I may be coming to you like this, but you have yet to know what under the table means. I can get you whatever you want.” Cecilia had to stop herself from scoffing at the Romulan.

“ Rhifv Areinnye daeohre,” she snapped back in his native language.  _ When hell freezes over _ . She stood up from the table, walking stick in hand, and exited the bar. She checked the time. Three minutes until the transporter window opening. She quickly activated her comm. “Captain?”

“Yes?”

“I’m heading back up to the ship. You told me to let you know, so….”

“Okay, I’ll be….right behind you.”

“Alright, do you want me to wait?”

“No, I’ll catch up.”

“Okay, Cecilia out.” Cecilia tapped the comm again, changing its frequency so that it matched the ship’s. “Rios, as soon as the window opens, get me up there.”

“Got it, Siete Lenguas. Just you?”

“Yes.”

“Things getting heated?” Cecilia turned her head, then seeing Andrev’s minions walking towards her, weapons in hand.

“Definitely.” She shut the comm off and placed her feet in a defensive position. She wouldn’t be able to move much, due to the sand and her knee, but she could still fight with the walking stick. “Damn,” she muttered. It happened all too quickly for her. They made the first move, charging at her. Cecilia swung the walking stick straight into the first one’s jaw, knocking him backwards. She twirled the walking stick, keeping mostly defensive positions. Her comm got tapped again. “Rios!” she called, letting her tone inform him that she was in trouble.

“I got you,” he answered. In mid-swing, Cecilia was transported back onto the ship. She nearly fell forward when she finally had her feet firm on the platform. Raffi was waiting for her.

“Things got heated, kid?” she asked the Vulcan, helping her down from the transporter platform.

“Got into a scuffle with the locals. They definitely don’t like Starfleet very much, or Picard.”

“We had that coming. I take it he needs more time down there?”

“Yes. I already told him I came back here.”

“Okay, that’s fine. We’ll probably hear from him soon. Here, come sit down, kid, we don’t need your knee going out, since you just got in a….situation.”

“Got it. I’ll be fine.”

A little while had passed and Cecilia explained what happened on the surface to Raffi, leaving out a few details.

“I never knew that people could support such….racism and discrimination,” she admitted.

“It’s been around for a long time, kid. People just tend to turn a blind eye to it,” Raffi told her.

“Someone should do something about it.”

“They’ve been trying to for years. Nothing like that is ever going to be easy.”

“It really doesn’t seem like there’s any effort towards it at all.” Raffi shrugged, but then moved away. Cecilia thought back on everything. Maybe she really had been sheltered. She had never been picked out of a crowd due to her race or her appearance. She never realized how people could hate a single person for an event that they couldn’t control. Not everyone in the galaxy was like her. Cecilia tried to focus in mentally on Picard; where he was on the planet, trying to see what he saw, but her skills still needed some practice with it. A very bad feeling crept into her mind. Picard was in some type of trouble. Cecilia knew almost instantly what it was. “Rios,” she called, starting to quickly step towards the transporter console.

“What?” he asked.

“How much longer until we can beam Picard back?”

“About a minute and a half. Why?”

“Something’s not right.” She tapped her comm, then working to get the transporter set up. “Captain, I’m beaming you up in a minute and a half.”

“That would be highly appreciated, at the moment,” Picard replied.

“On it.”  Cecilia waited at the transporter platform nervously, still having a bad feeling. “Come on, come on,” she muttered to herself. A few seconds later, two figures appeared on the transporter platform. One was the Admiral, but the other one, Cecilia didn’t recognize. He was a Romulan with long, dark black hair and pale skin. He wore a dark midnight blue outfit that almost looked black. Her eyes and his eyes met, locking onto each other. It was such an instant connection between them. Cecilia had never felt anything like this before. It was deeper than what she had felt with Narek. It was more  _ instant _ . Elnor continued to stare at Cecilia, knowing instantly who she was. He personally, however, had never seen anyone like her before. Her red hair, her green eyes, her pale complexion; he had never experienced any physical appearance of a person like that before. He had waited so long for this moment. Stepping off the transporter platform, Picard was the first to speak.

“Cecilia, this is Elnor,” he told her quickly. He didn’t exactly seem very pleased with Elnor. Something had gone wrong down on the planet; Cecilia’s ability had confirmed that.

“Hi,” the Vulcan heard herself say. The Romulan and the Vulcan still had their eyes locked on each other. Picard looked at Elnor, then Cecilia, then back to Elnor.

“Absolutely not,” he said, knowing instantly what was going on, even though the two young adults didn’t fully understand.

“It’s you,” Elnor spoke, approaching Cecilia. She didn’t back away or move forward, letting Elnor come up close to her.

“Elnor,” Picard called him back.

“I….” Cecilia began to stutter. “I don’t….think I know you.” Their eye contact remained locked.

“You two can figure out if you know each other later,” Rios interrupted. “Siete Lenguas, I need you. We have that old Bird of Prey coming up.” Reluctantly, she headed to the other control panel. She started working to get any defense measures set up as quickly as she could. Elnor watched Cecilia in fascination. After so many nights of staring at a picture, wondering who she was, he finally knew her name. To him, it was such a fitting name or her. The Bird of Prey started chasing after the ship. “It’s Kantar,” Rios told Cecilia.

“Engaging auto-evasion protocol,” the computer announced.

“Give me twenty seconds. I’m getting the details on the Bird,” the Vulcan replied, letting her fingers type away at lightning speed. “It’s targeting system is primitive, but the planetary security net is what will screw us over.”

“Just get us the hell out of here,” Raffi replied, working at the other control panel.

“Watch the net, watch the net!” The ship swerved, causing everyone to jolt roughly to the side.

“Can you go faster than the Bird of Prey?” Jurati asked.

“I don’t think we can outrun him.”

“But we can definitely outfly him,” Rios concluded, countering Cecilia’s doubts. The ship jerked again. “ Emmet, ¡podría necesitar un poco de ayuda!”  _ Emmet, I could use a little help! _

“Who the hell is Emmet?!” A hologram activated directly next to Cecilia, making her flinch. It was another copy of Rios, just with shaggy and messy longer hair.

“Tú vuela, yo dispararé,” Emmet answered.  _ You fly, I’ll shoot _ . Cecilia didn’t dare to get in his way.

“Weapons systems online,” the computer announced. Cecilia worked alongside the hologram, mostly following his lead.

“Nos están empujando a la red de seguridad,” Emmet announced.  _ They’re pushing us into the security net _ .

“De eso estaba preocupado,” the Vulcan replied.  _ That’s what I was worried about _ .

“Llegarás al alcance de los drones en nueve puntos y cuatro segundos.”  _ You’ll come within range of the drones in nine point four seconds. _

“¿Qué pasó con dispararles?” Rios and Cecilia asked in unison.  _ What happened to shooting them _ ?

“Siete Lenguas, work with me and hold on,” Rios told Cecilia. She prepared herself for whatever move he was going to make next.

“Launching additional power to thrusters,” the computer announced. Cecilia had an idea of what Rios was planning and she didn’t like it.

“Are you sure about this?” she questioned. Rios didn’t answer her. The ship swerved back and forth, making Cecilia feel almost sick.

“Routing additional power to inertial dampener,” the computer explained. The outer force of the net jerked the ship violently backwards.

“Demasiado cerca de la red,” Emmet told them. A new blast came from somewhere and hit the Bird of Prey.

“Where the hell did that come from?” Raffi questioned, moving as fast as Cecilia.

“Scanning,” Cecilia answered. “No ID, no transponder. Great timing.”

“Horrible barco,” Emmet commented.  _ Horrible ship _ .

“Magnifico piloto.”  _ Magnificent pilot _ . The other ship blasted the Bird of Prey, severing it into two pieces. The Bird managed to hit the unknown vessel, obviously damaging it. A beeping sound came from the console. “The pilot’s hailing us, Captain,” Cecilia announced, turning back towards Picard.

“Open a channel,” he immediately responded, but then looked to Rios for approval.

“Open the channel,” Rios repeated. Cecilia did as she was told.

“He’s asking permission to beam over,” she responded. “His ship is breaking up. His shields are failing.”

“Beam him in, now!” Raffi called out. Cecilia jumped up from her chair and started running for the transporter platform. She reached the steps and looked up to see Elnor’s outstretched hand. She immediately took it and he pulled her up, then letting her practically leap over to the transporter console. A figure beamed onto the ship, just as the unidentified vessel was destroyed. Cecilia and Picard both froze when they saw who the pilot was. They both knew her, just from different sources. Cecilia’s brother had met this pilot when he had been in the Delta Quadrant for seven years. Her brother and the pilot had been close friends for a long time.

“Seven of Nine?” Picard and Cecilia questioned in unison. Cecilia had waited so many years to see Seven again. Seven just stared at them for a few seconds. There was a deep, bleeding cut across her forehead.

“You owe me a new ship, Picard,” Seven finally spoke. Her body hit the floor a few seconds later.


	5. Lace Up Your Shoes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used/referenced in this chapter go to their rightful owners ( The Middle by Jimmy Eat World, Check Yes, Juliet by We the Kings).
> 
> Had fun writing this chapter, hope everyone enjoys it. We've now hit the halfway point. <3

Cecilia wanted to talk to Seven so badly. She thought about how James, her brother, had idolized the former Borg drone for years, and Cecilia had only been able to talk to her a few times. It all happened when Cecilia was younger. It was different back then. There were so many questions that Cecilia wanted to ask. Elnor, on the other hand, wanted to talk to the Vulcan. She, at the moment, remained so hidden to him and he was determined to discover her. He watched her subtly, as she either paced or sat next to the door to Picard’s study on the holodeck. It didn’t feel right for him to approach her yet. Picard exited the holodeck, seeing Cecilia.

“Captain,” she said, standing up. “Why can’t I talk to her?”

“Because I’m telling you not to, Cecilia.”

“I have every right to talk to her.”

“Not right now.”

“Look, I can wait. I can wait to talk to her, but you can’t tell me that I can’t talk to her at all, especially when I _need_ to speak with her.”

“Cecilia, please.”

“She’s the last person that we know of to have seen my brother, who I haven’t seen in six years since his twins were born, and we don’t know where he is.” Picard stayed silent, which only fueled the young adult further. “You said that I could have a place amongst you, but this isn't a place. It’s more of a servitude. I just do what you tell me to and that’s it. My mom didn’t do that. She made her own damn decisions and you know it.”

“She had more experience.”

“And I don’t? I’ve lived with you for four damn years. I know what we could face out here. I’m twenty years old and you treat me like a child. You didn’t treat my mom like this when she was fifteen years old aboard the Enterprise.”

“That is different.”

“No, it’s not. She came to you on the Enterprise to earn that second chance in her life. I came to you in France four years ago to find what to do with my life. You didn’t treat her like a child, but yet you treat me like one. Treat me as an adult, as an _equal_.”

“I don’t have to take this.”

“You would’ve taken my mom with you to go get Elnor, but instead, you chose to leave me behind and you put me in a situation I didn’t want to be in.”

“I would’ve left her, too.” Cecilia nearly scoffed at the response, believing she knew the actual truth.

“No, you wouldn’t have. Admit it, you loved her in a way that can never compare to another person and that’s why you’ll never treat me as an equal because I will never be her.”

“I want you to be better.” Cecilia went quiet, not sure how to respond to the answer she didn’t expect. Picard walked away, frustrated and not in the mood to talk anymore. Once he was out of sight, Elnor took a chance and started towards the Vulcan, only for her not to see him and walk straight into her room. The Romulan wasn’t quite sure how to approach her. He had dreamed and fantasized about her for years, but now he had no idea how to actually interact with her. Cecilia wasn’t exactly what he expected. Elnor walked up to her door, ignoring his hesitation, and knocked on it.

“I’m not in the mood to talk about my inadequacy anymore,” the Vulcan responded, opening the door. Realizing who was actually standing in front of her, Cecilia straightened up a little.

“Oh, Elnor, sorry. Thought you were the Captain.” There was nothing that Cecilia wanted more than to be able to talk in depth with Elnor. She had almost forgotten about mentally contacting Narek. There was more of a connection with the dark haired Romulan in front of her, compared to the dark haired Romulan potentially lightyears away. However, she did _still_ have a connection with Narek.

“May I speak with you?” Elnor asked her. She, personally, loved his voice. It was sweeter and more gentle than Narek’s. Elnor was sweet, while Narek was charming. It’d eventually be up to Cecilia to decide which appealed to her more.

“Yeah, sure, come in.” She stepped away from the door, letting Elnor enter. Her backpack and some of its contents were strewn across the bed. The Romulan spied Juno’s multicolored squeaky bone and picked it up, unsure of what it was. “That belongs to my dog,” Cecilia explained. “It’s his favorite toy. I couldn’t bring him with us, so I left one of my old stuffed animals with him and he gave me his bone.”

“What does it do?” Cecilia took the bone from Elnor’s hand and squeezed it, letting him hear the squeak.

“It just squeaks and the dogs play with it.” She placed it back on the bed. “Sorry that I’ve been really preoccupied. I know you’ve wanted to talk since you got on. It seems like you already know me, somehow?” The two sat on the bed next to each other, pushing the items of the backpack off to the side. “How did you meet Picard?”

“As a child, I was placed in the care of the Qowat Milat sisters during the Romulan Relocation movement. Picard regularly visited Vashti, coming to see us. He would bring gifts to us all. The year he left, I remember he gave me a book. It was called _The Three Musketeers_.”

“How many years ago was that?”

“Fourteen.”

“That was the year synthetics attacked Mars. That must have been why he left.”

“He accidentally left this picture behind.” Elnor held up the picture that he had shown to Picard. Cecilia took it from his hands and looked at it. She had a very very small smile, and it was almost a sad smile.

“I remember this. My mom had a copy of it framed on the wall on our second floor. This was taken on my fourth birthday. Picard left about two weeks after. He used to live with my family and me. This is the original picture.”

“I looked at this picture every night, wondering who you were, where you could be, and why you meant so much to Picard that he would have your picture. Now that I’ve finally met you, I feel that I belong by your side. It’s where I’ve wanted to be for a long time.” Cecilia smiled a little, feeling more secure with Elnor next to her. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, and it reminded her almost of a blanket trapping warmth within itself.

“I want to know everything there possibly is to know about you,” she replied, keeping the smile. He started to smile back at her. Internally, he wanted to pull her into a hug, but even though he knew she probably wouldn’t have minded, they weren’t quite there _yet_. Cecilia’s door opened suddenly, causing both of them to look up. Seven peeked her head in.

“Sorry, wrong room,” she said without any emotion. She started to walk away, but Cecilia quickly moved to catch up to her.

“Seven, wait!” the Vulcan called. The ex-Borg turned back to look at the young adult. “I wanted to talk to you about my brother. You were the last person to have seen him, as far as we know, and I wanted to know if you knew anything at all. Well, I don’t even know if you really remember me.” 

“I do. I do remember you. As for your brother, I’ve been looking for him, as well. Quite a few people have been. He’s a good kid, Star Girl. Don’t stop your search. I need to talk to Picard.” Seven walked away. Star Girl. That was her brother’s nickname for her. James had called Cecilia that since she was old enough to talk. She hadn’t heard it in over four years. The entire Voyager crew knew her by that name. It meant something deep to Cecilia that Seven had also been looking for James. It reassured her that she wasn’t the only one. She wasn’t the only one who still had hope left.

Seven and Picard were still talking over whatever, neither of them having exited the holodeck. Cecilia stayed in her seat at the right hand control panel, keeping to herself. She had a lot that she was thinking of. Raffi was on the left hand side, looking through someone’s profile or something. Rios walked over.

“She’s in there with him,” he said. “She’s in the château with Picard.”

“I wonder what those two have to talk about,” Raffi answered. Cecilia slightly turned her chair, but didn’t say anything.

“Seems like they know each other.”

“You know, she used to be Borg, like him.”

“Oh wow. She’s _that_ Ranger. She’s notorious. Ninety-nine or Eleven or something.”

“She goes by Seven,” Cecilia finally spoke up, causing the two adults to look at her.

“You talked to her a little while ago, Siete Lenguas. How do you know her?” Cecilia moved, leaning a little further forward.

“She’s from the Delta Quadrant. My brother served on Voyager. They picked her up when they got stranded. She and my sister in-law are the best of friends. Seven’s also the last person to have seen my brother in years.”

“Seven, the ex-Borg Fenris Ranger from the Delta Quadrant,” Rios summed up. “Forgot that Picard was once Borg too.” The Vulcan went quiet, thinking about her mother and the memories she inherited from her mother.

“Must have blocked it out,” Raffi commented.

“This is some strange cargo you brought me, Raffi.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I miss my family,” Cecilia admitted quietly, not realizing that she had been thinking out loud. She realized it when she saw the other two looking at her. “Forget it.” The young adult turned back in her seat, facing the control panel once again. Raffi motioned to Rios with her head to leave her and Cecilia alone. Rios picked up the hint and walked away.

“Hey, kiddo, look, I know you told me to give you a call, but I think you might need to give me a call. What’s going on, hon?”

“I haven’t seen my brother in a really long time. Or my mom and dad. My parents aren’t missing, but my brother is and I guess I just thought that maybe Seven would have a major clue to where he is. I used to know Seven when I was a kid. She was always my favorite of the Voyager crew. I guess I just haven’t seen my family in so long that now I really miss them. And I know Rios doesn’t mean it, but it just….bothers me when he talks about Picard once being Borg. My mom was once taken over by the Borg and I see how it truly affected the rest of her life. I can only imagine how it is with Picard.”

“It seems like there’s been a lot of tension between the two of you.”

“It’s just because the last time he traveled around the galaxy, he ended up right at my mom’s door. He wasn’t really protective with her, so he wants to do things differently with me. I’m just not my mom, but he wants me to be her. I don’t know, he wants me to be my mom so that he can redo everything he did wrong.”

“A lot of people want to fix their mistakes. You even told me that you yourself wanted to fix things.”

“I know,” she replied with a shrug. “Trust me, I know.”

A little less than two hours later, they arrived at Freecloud, staying in its orbit. Everyone was hanging around the cockpit area. The Freecloud greeting system filled the area with interactive holograms. One was currently annoying Rios by attempting to distract him from everything else with a welcome message.

“Welcome, Captain Rios!” the hologram greeted. It had a red face and cartoonish eyes. “Did you know that your power conversion efficiency is only 91%? I can improve that for you! No one knows their way around a freighter like the Red Bolian.” Rios had a small smile, but then flicked the hologram away. Another hologram was of a woman wearing a steampunk style dress and a top hat.

“Care for a cuppa?” she asked Picard. He, personally, found them to be quite amusing and understood why some would enjoy them. “Join the party at the Freecloud Grand Hotel’s afternoon high tea!” Picard, politely, waved his hand to decline.

“Help! Make it go away!” Jurati’s high-pitched voice called from behind Rios’s chair. A larger hologram of a boxer robot was attacking her, but it obviously wasn’t meant to be painful. It was meant as a challenge. She shielded her face with her arms, ducking down at the same time.

“The Freecloud Institute of Entertainment Robotics is now hiring,” the bot announced.

“You have to punch it,” Rios explained. “Hit it as hard as you can.”

“I don’t hit things,” Jruati answered.

“You need to knock its head clean off.” Jurati hesitated for a second, but then slammed her fist into the hologram. It finally disappeared. Raffi, Rios and Jurati all started laughing. “Agnes for the knockout!” She jokingly punched Rios in response. A new hologram appeared by Cecilia. It was about her height and weight, but it was designed to look masculine.

“The Freecloud Institute of Dance is always looking for new recruits,” the hologram told her. That moment was the first time in a long while that Cecilia felt joy. Dance was her passion. It meant everything to her, even though she could barely dance anymore from her knee. A smile spread across her face, as a catchy beat started to play. She practically jumped up, starting to dance lightly with the hologram, mostly with just a few fancy twirls. There used to be so much more she could do, but now her knee limited her more than ever. She twirled again, this time spinning twice and letting go of the hologram’s hand, so that she could spin again, but her hand landed directly into Elnor’s outstretched hand, as he twirled her a final time and concluded by pulling her back. They smiled at each other and Cecilia was laughing a little. They both looked back towards Picard, just out of a quick reaction. He wasn’t exactly pleased with their closeness, but he was happy enough that Cecilia seemed actually cheerful. That was what he wanted for her; to have her serotonin always at its highest, unlike how her mother struggled for a long period of time to find the positives in life. Her mother, when she was a teenager, had faced such a depression that it took the power of an omnipotent being to finally clear her head of the dark clouds that surrounded it. Picard never wanted Cecilia to go through that.

“I found him, JL,” Raffi announced, as the dance hologram disappeared.

“You found Maddox?” he questioned, standing up. Cecilia moved back to her panel, but Picard jokingly tapped her shoulder as she passed. She smiled back at him for a second, then turning back to her panel. The Admiral walked over to Raffi.

“Yes, I did, but….oh, goodness. Bruce Maddox, what did you do? I’m on a jobs board for interfacers. Essentially, go-betweens for hire. Great business for competing corporations, rival criminal gangs, thieves and their victims, especially on Freecloud. I sent myself an invitation to join the local facers’ guild. It’s an old Starfleet intel trick. Party named Bjayzl is holding him. They’re looking for someone to broker a deal with the….”

“Tal Shiar,” Cecilia concluded, looking at the same screen that Raffi was working with.

“Bjayzl,” Seven’s voice said from behind her, pronouncing the name correctly. Everyone turned to face Seven. She stood close to Cecilia.

“You know him?” the Vulcan asked her. There was a slight pause.

“Her,” Seven replied. “She butchers ex-Borg for parts. She’s been high up on the Rangers’ wanted list for years.”

“Couldn’t we outbid the Tal Shiar?” Jurati suggested.

“No, not really,” Raffi objected. “We’re, first of all, pretty much broke, and if she’s sensible enough to use a facer, then this is probably a pretty massive deal.”

“We must get him out of there,” Picard stated.

“Not with the security she has. Payrolls show she’s got a little army of private contractors,” Cecilia told him. “She has a Beta Annari as a personal bodyguard. I’m not sure what that is.”

“Sentient reptiloid,” Rios answered. “Nasty pieces of-”

“Got the picture.”

“Without Maddox, we’ll never find Dahj’s sister,” Picard reminded. Cecilia was typing away quickly, trying to see what she could find, while also trying to see if she could move ahead of Raffi. “Options?”

“Well, we can’t snatch him, and we can’t buy him,” the redhead responded.

“We’re shit out of luck, JL,” Raffi concluded.

“Not quite,” Seven disagreed. Everyone turned again to face her. “We trade. Give Bjayzl something she wants in exchange for Maddox. Something she’ll find _irresistible_.”

“Like what?” Cecilia asked. Seven looked at her. Cecilia felt that she already knew what answer she was going to get, and she wasn’t sure if she liked the idea or not.

“Like me.”

Everyone gathered in the château, ready to figure out what rolls they were going to play. They dressed Rios up in an odd looking outfit, consisting of a green, silky shirt that was cut low enough to show a bit of his chest and a bright, neon orange hat with a white brim. He also wore golden sunglasses. To Cecilia and Elnor, it looked just plain odd, but to the other adults, it looked _necessary_.

“I dropped a pretty foolproof ID of you into the system,” Raffi explained, fixing the pilot’s hat. “You’re now a facer. Famous, but not _too_ famous.”

“Pretty foolproof?”

“We’re not exactly working with a lot of time here.”

“Raffi, are you serious, sending us down there looking like this?” Picard asked. He was also dressed up, wearing a full black suit and, in Cecilia’s opinion, an extremely idiotic-looking eye patch. It was all topped off with black gloves. Most of the material was leather.

“Facers tend to dress very flamboyant, JL. It’s protective coloration. You want to stand out, so no one is going to mix you up with the other side.” Rios turned towards Jurati.

“What do you think, Agnes?”

“I think you’re killing it,” she answered.

“But are you really a facer?” Elnor asked, making Cecilia snicker and smile.

“No.”

“You’re licensed, you’ve paid off your guild dues, and you have a meeting with a Mister Vup,” Raffi continued to remind. “Seriously, Rios, you really _need_ to sell this. You can’t do your broody, existentialist spaceman routine. Your personality needs to match your clothes. Show a little panache.”

“I know, I know, but it just feels like something’s missing.”

“I think I know what it is,” Jurati spoke up, looking straight at Cecilia. Raffi turned, also looking at Cecilia.

“I think I do, too.” The Vulcan looked between the two women.

“Why are you guys looking at me?”

The only two words that could possibly describe the continuing fifteen minutes are as follows: a montage. They had Cecilia trying on multiple different outfits, attempting to match her with Rios and Picard. While she was being a temporary model, Cecilia had Elnor listening to some of the songs she really loved. The one he was listening to at the moment was ‘The Middle’ by Jimmy Eat World. She listened to it more when she was around the middle school age, but it was still a song she liked. As Elnor saw each of the outfits, the song played:

Hey, don’t write

yourself off yet

It’s only in your head,

you feel left out

Or looked down on

Just try your best,

try everything you can

Don’t you worry what they

tell themselves

When you’re away

It just takes some time

Little girl, you’re in the

middle of the ride

Everything, everything

will be just fine

Everything, everything

will be alright

Alright

Cecilia and Raffi walked around the corner again, with Cecilia wearing yet another outfit. It was the fourth outfit she had now tried on. The first had been a short, pink dress that Picard immediately disapproved of, due to its length. The second had been an orange gown with a corset, which was painful, so that was out. The third had been a very loose, yet extremely low-cut, red party dress. Hopefully, the fourth option would be a charm. The outfit she was wearing was a black dress with a small strip of sparkles. It reached the floor and had no sleeves, but came up around her neck, almost in a halter-style. The back was completely open, exposing her pale and smooth skin. The dress was very form-fitting, spotlighting all her curves, but it was loose and elegantly flowing at the same time. Raffi had quickly, but nicely, pulled Cecilia’s hair back, twisting it and pinning it with little sparkly clips. The Vulcan had a smile on her face, as she looked around the room.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“You look beautiful,” Elnor replied with a bright smile, which gained him a glance from Picard. Cecilia blushed a little, looking down at the floor for a second, but then back up.

“The more important question is, what do _you_ think?” Raffi intervened. Cecilia thought for a minute.

“It’s a little slutty….but also modest at the same time. I like it.”

“Great. Now, let’s go over another thing,” Raffi began to explain. “Try to stay away from the lizard. Beta Annari can smell when a person isn’t telling the truth.” Jurati shot a hypospray into Rios’s neck, as well as Cecilia’s and Picard’s. “That’ll block the Beta Annari’s senses, anxiolytics, benzos. Delayed release. Raffi’s home cooking, honey. Should kick in right when you need it. Honestly, it’s not Rios that I’m worried about. It’s you three.” Cecilia, Picard and Elnor exchanged glances.

“Oh, I thought I looked…. _appropriately sinister_ ,” Picard responded, adding a French accent to the last two words, which made Cecilia laugh. Raffi didn’t find it funny.

“Mm, no comment. Now, assuming everything goes to plan, this is a transport pattern enhancer,” she said to Seven. “Once you get it inside their shields, it will make a stable tunnel to transport in and out of. They won’t be able to differentiate it from your implants on the scan. Um, hands, please. No offense.”

“None taken,” Seven replied, allowing Raffi to cuff her hands.

“Why? Why are you helping them, I mean.”

“When the evacuation ended and the Neutral Zone collapsed, someone needed to maintain a form of order. At this point….it’s become habit.”

“I admire what you do out there. Push in, and then pull out.” Seven did to the cuffs as she was told, without a reply. “Once you get Maddox, activate the enhancer, and Doc here will beam you out.” Raffi motioned towards Jurati.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Agnes began to protest. “Um, just-”

“Hold that thought.” Raffi put a cloth over Seven’s head. “Can you breathe?”

“Yes.”

“What do you mean I beam them out?” Jurati continued to question.

“It’s a lie,” Elnor said with a smile. “Everyone is behaving as if they were somebody else.” Cecilia grinned, holding back a laugh. “Everyone except me.”

“We’ll take care of that. Agnes, you’re on transporter duty,” Raffi answered.

“Really? Me? Okay. How hard is it, really?”

“You press two buttons and then slide the bar up,” Cecilia told her. Raffi had Elnor dressed up within minutes. He looked like Rios; wearing a light brown leather jacket and black jean-like pants.

“Aguardiente,” he said, trilling the letter r. The Vulcan in the room found it to be adorable.

“Eh,” everyone else commented, filing out of the room.

“I don’t know how to not be Elnor.”

“Then be Elnor,” Cecilia replied with a smile.

“An Elnor who never talks,” Seven added.

An hour and a half later, everything had gone almost perfectly to plan. Picard, Seven, Cecilia and Elnor all beamed down to the planet to the awaiting Mr. Vup, the Beta Annari lizard man. Cecilia now had a rose in her hair and a white diamond necklace around her neck. She stood on Picard’s right, Seven on his left, and Elnor on her left. Elnor and Cecilia could subtly exchange glances this way. With all her makeup on and the perfectly fitting dress, Elnor could help but stare at her. The Qowat Milat had never looked like that, or ever got dressed up before. The Beta Annari stood in front of them, with Rios at his side.

“Disgusting creature,” Picard said, using his French accent. It took everything in Cecilia not to start laughing. She just kept a cunning smile. The red lipstick that Raffi suggested really helped her establish the personality appearance of a rich, beautiful woman. “Once they get the Borg inside them, there is no coming back, no matter what they think. Defiled is what you are.” Picard was trying his hardest to look at Seven with disgust and hatred. It wasn’t a very good act, and the look was almost completely shown on Seven’s face. “Damned. Cursed.”

“Quite a prize,” Mr. Vup commented. “Rare to find one with so many implants still fully functional.”

“She’s not one of the new ones. When the Borg entered her, she was a jeune fille. You’ll have to dice her up to get it all out.” Mr. Vup and Rios exchanged glances, a low growl coming from the lizard man. “A little squeamish, are we? I can take my trade elsewhere.”

“No. Not squeamish. Not at all.”

“Your work is done,” Picard said to Rios, giving him a money chip.

“I’ll go have another drink,” Rios told them, with a slight bow, leaving towards the bar.

“Let’s see if there’s a deal to be made,” Mr. Vup offered.

“Now that’s the kind of talk I like, but one last thing. I want proof that my bounty is alive. I need to see Maddox!” There was a pause.

“Wait here.” As Mr. Vup walked away, the group took seats where they could find them. After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Cecilia stood up and motioned for Elnor to follow.

“Cecilia, where are you going?” Picard immediately questioned. She held up the Vulcan hand salute in response, walking away with the Romulan. They took seats at the corner of the bar. The bartender immediately gave her a drink, which she assumed to be Angel Shot, due to its color. She was twenty years old and would be turning twenty-one in four months; she figured she was old enough.

“It would be fun to come party here every once and awhile,” she told Elnor, taking a few sips of the drink.

“I’ve never been to a party.”

“Neither have I. Do you know the song they’re playing?”

“No.”

“It’s ‘Check Yes, Juliet’ by We the Kings. I haven’t heard it in a long time. It’s a good song.” She followed up her comment by beginning to mouth the lyrics:

Check yes, Juliet,

are you with me?

Rain is falling down

on the sidewalk

I won’t go until you

come outside

Lace up your shoes

eh-oh, eh-oh

Here’s how we do

Run baby run,

don’t ever look back

They’ll tear us apart

if you give them the chance

Don’t sell your heart

Don’t say we’re not

meant to be

Forever we’ll be,

you and me

“You know many songs,” Elnor commented.

“My mom’s passion was always music. She knows probably hundreds of thousands of songs. I’ve learned the songs I know from her.”

“Is she like you?” Cecilia shrugged.

“I’m not sure. Maybe. Or maybe I’m more like her.” Cecilia happened to glance over, and saw Picard motioning to them. “Let’s go.” The two quickly headed back. Mr. Vup and a woman were standing with Picard. The woman was dressed up in a sparkly white outfit. Cecilia assumed her to be Bjayzl. Maddox had been brought over, as well. He didn’t look like he was doing too good.

“As I was telling your Mister Vip….” Picard was starting to say.

“Vup.”

“...you will not see many more like her.” The Admiral ripped the cloth off of Seven’s head, adding unnecessary finesse. “When they get assimilated as children, more of the hardware remains inside them.” Cecilia caught a glance of Rios, who was watching subtly from the far end of the bar.

“Ears, eyes, neck, chest, spine, kidneys, hips, various bones,” Mr. Vup stated.

“I thought it could be you,” Bjayzl said to Seven. “Hoped might have even been the word. I always knew you were impressive, just never _how_ impressive. It’s good to see you again, Annika.” Annika Hansen. That had been Seven’s true name many years ago. Cecilia knew this from her brother, but had kept her mouth shut. Seven didn’t say anything. Bjayzl looked at her guards, who suddenly pulled out blasters, keeping them aimed at the group. Picard and Cecilia put their hands up a little bit in defense. Rios could see this easily, and Cecilia hoped he was giving a heads up to Jurati about the situation. “Are you still angry because I carved up your little friend for parts? Or is it because you _trusted_ me? You were so noble then. Save the outcasts, rescue the forgotten. You were so easy.”

“Was I, Jay? Then how did I get away?” Seven responded. Picard slightly motioned towards Cecilia’s head, giving her a sign to see what she could discover with her ability. She did as she was told, deepening into Seven and Bjayzl’s thoughts. Bjayzl had murdered someone very close to Seven. His name had been….Icheb. The Vulcan could see some of the details of his face; a memory of his happier days. He mattered so much to Seven. Cecilia could feel the emotional, internal pain that the former Borg drone felt. “How did I escape the great Bjayzl? A fortune in Borg tech and you lost it. You lost _me_ . No one’s ever been worth more to you than _me_ and I slipped right through your fingers. _I’m_ the one that got away.” There was a pause, until Bjayzl further approached Seven.

“Not anymore.”

“Wrong, Jay.” Seven broke the handcuffs and latched her hand around Bjayzl’s throat, making sure to keep her grip tight. The Ranger was fully capable of snapping the woman’s neck. “Drop your weapons.”

“Listen to her. Now!” The guards’ weapons slowly lowered. Picard lifted up his eyepatch, then turning to Seven.

“What the hell is going on here?” he questioned, using his normal voice.

“I was not entirely candid with you,” she answered, not looking at him.

“Really?” he replied somewhat sarcastically. Elnor found this to be a good time to step forward and ask a question.

“Are we still pretending?”

“No, Elnor. I think everyone has finally stopped.” Elnor took the weapons from the guard, giving two of them to Cecilia, who followed behind him. Picard moved over to Maddox. “Bruce, how are you doing?”

“Picard?” Maddox questioned.

“Picard?” Bjayzl repeated. “The famous Admiral Picard? Well, it appears that you thought you were playing, when you were the one being played. I take it you weren’t aware of Annika and my close, personal relationship.”

“Shut up,” Seven snapped, shoving Bjayzl forcefully against a table, not letting go of her throat. Seven threw the transporter enhancer behind her, so that it landed on another table. “Take Maddox and go.” Cecilia had taken this time to move over to Maddox and make sure he was physically still living at that moment.

“What do you mean?” Picad questioned.

“She means to kill me,” Bjayzl answered. “But hero to the end, our Annika, she’ll save your lives first.”

“Just go,” Seven urged. Cecilia turned back to look over at Rios. He had to have a plan.

“You know, you were right,” Picard intervened. “This is _not_ saving the galaxy. This is just settling an old score.”

“You have no idea what this is,” Seven snapped again.

“Then tell me. What is it?” The Ranger forcefully ripped her hand away from the woman’s throat.

“When the rescues ended, some of us tried to help form and maintain order on the other worlds that the Federation left behind. We were based on Fenris. One of us was a young science officer on leave from the USS Coleman. He was out doing recon near Daimanta when his ship received a distress signal. It turned out to be an ambush attack. He was the closest I will _ever_ have to kin.” Cecilia pieced everything together in her head, now understanding what she had discovered with her ability. “Like me, Icheb was a former Borg, rescued and reclaimed by Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. That’s why she wanted him. His parts were…. _good business_. She had his implants stripped out without anesthetic or even the minor mercy of death. I had met her on Fenris. She was posing as one of us, as a person trying to help. She learned about Icheb from me.” There was a ten second pause after she finished explaining.

“But,” Picard finally spoke, “murder is not justice. There’s no solace in revenge. You have had your humanity restored, don’t throw it away now.” A weapon fired, causing everyone to turn and look over. Rios had shot Mr. Vup.

“Are we ready to go yet?” he asked.

“Take them,” Seven ordered. “Activate the transporter enhancer and get them the hell out of here.”

“You got it. Revenge. I understand the impulse. If you do this, you put a bounty on all of us. I, personally, don’t give a damn, but the kids and the old man, they don’t stand a chance with a price on their heads.”

“Your friend has a point, Annika. Let’s make a trade. Maddox for my life.” Seven grabbed her by the throat again, forcing Bjayzl to stand.

“Hey, hey, look at the math of it is all I’m saying,” Rios intervened. “You found her once. Odds are you’ll do it again.” There was a long, deathly silent, tense pause.

“Seven-” Cecilia began to say, standing up.

“Five to beam up, Doctor,” Picard called to Jurati over the comm. Cecilia didn’t bother to say anything else, but helped Maddox up to stand. Everyone was beamed back to the ship a few moments later. Maddox fell to his knees.

“I did it,” Jurati repeated to herself. “Oh my God, Bruce.” She ran over, acting as his support.

“He’s in bad shape. Exposure, dehydration. Maybe other things. Get him to sickbay quickly.” Elnor and Jurati helped him to the sickbay. Rios moved to get back to his Captain’s chair. Cecilia hung back, along with Picard and Seven. “I’m glad of the choice you made,” the Admiral said to the Ranger. “It seems that the least I can offer you is a lift.”

“The Rangers already sent a corsair for me. It should be here by now. I will take two of your phasers, if that’s alright. A vigilante can always use a few more.”

“Of course.” There was a moment of silence. There was a lot that Cecilia actually wanted to say to Seven, but at that moment, she couldn’t really think of anything. Seven’s gaze drifted from Picard to behind him, looking at Cecilia. She walked over to her.

“In case you ever need a vigilante,” the Ranger told her, handing Cecilia a small clear chip.

“Thank you,” the Vulcan answered, placing the item in her pocket. The two looked at each other, until Seven stepped forward and hugged her. It was a hug that Cecilia had remembered from her childhood. “I’m so sorry.” Seven understood what she meant. She had felt Cecilia delving into her mind, earlier.

“I’m making you a promise that I will _never_ stop looking for your brother, Star Girl. He means too much to you, and too much to me to let anything happen to him again.” Cecilia nodded.

“Thanks, Seven.” They broke their hug. The Vulcan truly did matter to the Ranger. Seven had watched James grow up over the course of years on Voyager. When Voyager finally made it back to Earth, Cecilia was a preteen, still innocent and naive to the world. Seven felt for a long time that it was her responsibility to make sure James and Cecilia would continue to grow into people that still had faith in the galaxy; people who would do something to help people who were lost.

“Don’t ever change yourself. The galaxy needs more people like you, Star Girl. You’ll learn that, eventually.” Seven turned to Picard and started to lower her voice. “After they brought you back from your time in the Collective, do you honestly feel that you regained your humanity?”

“Yes,” Picard answered firmly.

“All of it?” There was a pause.

“No. But we’re both working on it, aren’t we?”

“Every damn day of my life. Take care of this one.” Seven motioned towards Cecilia, then stepped on the platform and transported off the ship. Picard turned back towards the Vulcan.

“Cecilia,” he started to say. She smiled at him bittersweetly, but then started walking away, heading for sickbay. She would hold onto that promise for a long time, having the hope that maybe, just maybe, Seven would make it happen. But the galaxy wasn’t always a place for hope.

Picard and Cecilia traveled down to the sickbay. Picard had changed out of his disguise, but Cecilia hadn’t had the time yet, due to helping Jurati with getting Maddox stabilized.

“Massive abdominal hemorrhaging,” the computer announced.

“Thanks for the update,” Cecilia sarcastically replied.

“Increasing clotting factor by twelve percent.”

“They really worked you over,” Picard said softly to Maddox.

“Dahj….is dead, isn’t she?” Maddox asked.

“She found me, and then I lost her. I’m profoundly sorry.”

“When the Tal Shiar came for me, blew up my lab, I knew. Her embedded Mom AI wouldn’t have activated her unless she was in grave danger.”

“Bruce, I need to know, does she have a sister?”

“Yes. Soji.”

“Soji,” Picard repeated. Cecilia listened closely, standing closer to Picard. She still looked glamorous as ever, wearing the black dress and everything, but a part of her felt…. _dirty_. She felt as if she wasn’t doing something right. “Where is she?”

“She’s on the Artifact.”

“The captured Borg cube?” Cecilia cut in before she could stop herself. “Why?”

“Same reason I sent her sister to Earth. To find the truth.”

“The truth about what?” Picard questioned.

“The ban. There are lies upon lies upon lies. They’re hiding something.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. It’s the same ones hunting her.”

“The Romulans?”

“Not just them. I think the Federation is involved. That’s what I sent them to find out.”

“Admiral, he’s barely stable,” Jurati intervened in the discussion. “He needs to rest.”

“Understood. I’ll leave you to it.” Cecilia followed Picard out the door, still stuck with the feeling that she was doing something wrong.

“The Artifact? That’s in Romulan space,” Rios told them, looking at a holographic map of the sector. “Flying into Romulan space doubles my fee.” He smiled a little, sending the message that he was joking. “Okay, jefe.”

“Old man, indeed.” They both smiled between each other. Cecilia, on the other hand, didn’t have a smile. She finally had changed into her normal clothes, but hadn't taken the makeup off yet. She kept thinking over everything, trying to figure out what wasn’t right, but so far, she hadn’t made any progress.

“So, are we going to talk about our stowaway?” While the team had been dealing with Bjayzl, whom Seven had actually evaporated when she returned to the planet’s surface, Raffi traveled to the area of Freecloud where her original reason for going was located. The reason remained unknown to everyone else. Raffi, however, hadn’t left her room since returning to the ship. She was depressed and bitter, as well as angry. Cecilia didn’t want to use her ability yet. She hated doing that to people close to her. Raffi would come to someone when she was ready. Picard moved to approach her room, leaving Cecilia and Rios alone. “What’s going on, Siete Lenguas? You look upset.”

“I’m not upset,” she objected. “Something just doesn’t feel right. I’m not sure what it is. It’s just really, really….” Cecilia’s voice trailed off. She was getting a feeling that she had never experienced before.

“Hey, Siete? Kiddo, hey, talk to me, what’s going on? Cecilia?” She couldn’t answer, even though she wanted to so badly. Something was happening. A tear fell from her eye, before her body started to stiffen. “Cecilia, hey, hey, hey.” Rios moved faster than he had in almost his entire life, picking her up out of the chair she was sitting in and getting her placed on the floor. Her body and limbs were beginning to shake, as she slipped into convulsions. Picard was by Rios and Cecilia’s sides within seconds.

“Cecilia,” the Admiral called her name. She couldn’t respond. Her hand jerked and he caught it. He wasn’t sure if it was from her convulsions or if for a split second she had gained a bit of control, he felt her fingers tighten tightly around his.

“Siete, don’t go on us. Don’t go on us. Activate EMH!” Rios yelled out.

“What is the nature of-oh shit,” Cecilia heard the EMH say. Everything around her was starting to darken.

“Come on, Siete, don’t go on us.” Everything darkened, until Cecilia couldn’t see anymore. The last thing she remembered was hearing the familiar, cold, long, digital alarm of a flatline.


	6. Safe With Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used/referenced to go to their rightful owners ( Sanctuary by Welshly Arms and Leave a Light On by Tom Walker)
> 
> Long chapter coming up next
> 
> Potential trigger warning

“The trauma Bruce sustained on Freecloud was….significant,” Jurati explained. “Massive injuries to the head and chest gave way to internal bleeding. The meds kept him stable for a little while, but his heart just couldn’t take it.” Picard, Elnor and Cecilia sat at the tables around her, listening to what she had to say.

“This is hard for you,” Picard responded sympathetically.

“Harder than I could have imagined. You said, um, Bruce told you the other one’s on the Artifact?”

“Yes. He called her Soji.”

“What Artifact?” Elnor asked. There was a long pause. “Maybe that’s none of my business.”

“Oh, not at all, Elnor,” Picard told him.

“The Artifact is an abandoned Borg Cube,” Cecilia finally spoke. She hadn’t said much since coming out of her seizure, which the EMH diagnosed as epilepsy. The Vulcan had tossed and turned the thought in her mind, knowing that epilepsy couldn’t have been the cause.

“Borg? Like Seven of Nine?”

“No, not like her at all,” Picard replied before Cecilia could continue.

“Bruce said that he created Dahj and Soji to find out the truth behind the ban,” Jurati said. “Why send her there?”

“How do you know if she’s even still alive?” Elnor questioned.

“We don’t,” the Admiral told him. “Which is why we have to get there as fast as possible.”

“But you’re not looking forward to it.”

“Looking forward to it? No. No. Not at all. My last visit to a Borg Cube was not voluntary.”

“They called you Locutus of Borg,” Jurati stated. Although Cecilia wasn’t alive, or even a thought, during that time, she could  _ remember  _ that name. Her mother’s memories remained embedded in her mind. “Injected you with nanoprobes. Grafted you with synthetic parts. Assimilated your mind with theirs. Forgive me, the Borg are mandatory reading in my line of work. It must have been awful. But this cube is cut off from the rest of the Collective. They’re outcasts, stranded, under Romulan control. Maybe they’ve changed.”

“Changed?” Picard nearly cut her off. “The Borg? They assimilate entire civilizations, entire systems, in a matter of hours. They don’t change! They spread.” There was a pause. Feeling the weight of Picard’s words, Cecilia put a hand to her head. Elnor looked to her, making sure she was okay. She subtly waved him off, putting her hand back down.

“I’m sorry,” Jurati finally spoke.

“No need to apologize. Excuse me.” Picard stood up and walked away. Silence fell upon the remaining three. Elnor was the one who broke the silence.

“He can’t see that you’re also haunted by something you’d like to forget. Was I in-butting?”

“That time, yes.” Something still didn’t feel right to Cecilia with the way Picard talked about the Borg. She didn’t actually know that much about them, since her mother had refused to speak about the topic. Her dad always said that it was ultra-personal and traumatic for Vanessa. Cecilia knew this, of course, since she had inherited some of her mother’s memories. However, memories were  _ just  _ memories; knowledge and feelings were on a completely different level when it came to the mental sensitivity Cecilia shared with her mom and brother. The Vulcan stood up from the table, starting towards the steps that would take her up to the holodeck.

“Cecilia?” Elnor called. She didn’t answer or turn back. She hesitated for only a second, but entered the holodeck anyway. Picard was sitting at his desk, looking at a projection image of different assimilated people. Right as she entered, the Admiral had scrolled upon a collage of images of his former officer from when she, too, had been assimilated. He closed the projection immediately as he saw Cecilia. It was too late.

“No, no, no,” she said, nearly rushing forward. “Please, let me see. I-I’ve never seen the pictures. She never let us.”

“Cecilia, these pictures are very….graphic and personal,” Picard began to explain. He worried about how the images would affect her. “These images have more depth to them than anyone who didn’t live through it could understand.”

“Look, I know I’ve been short and not very nice since….before Freecloud and everything, but just…. _ please _ . I’m sorry, I really am. I know I’ve messed up and I keep messing up, but please, let me see the pictures. I’ll stop causing problems and-and I’ll find a way to fix everything and-”

“Cecilia, no, no, no. You’re twenty years old and taking part in something that neither of us understand completely. I don’t blame you at all for becoming frustrated. I’m not mad.” There was a pause between them, one not believing the other. “These images are not to be taken lightly.” Picard cautiously reopened the projection, as Cecilia took the seat on the opposite side of his desk. She analyzed the pictures deeply. The largest picture was a close-up of Vanessa’s face. She had been, physically, sixteen, at the time. Her altered aging process, which was a result of radiation exposure, had been treated a short time before the image had been taken. She looked so much like Cecilia, except for her eyes being blue, not green, and having almost no freckles. Metal machinery pieces were placed around Vanessa’s left eye, similar to Seven. An expression of pure desperation was written all over her face. Desperation and fear. Another image depicted Vanessa bound to a bio-bed, obviously against her will. There were metal mechanic pieces covering her body, grouped together in different spots on her limbs. The picture across from that showed a close-up of a long scar running the length of Vanessa’s forearm.

“What’s this one?” Cecilia asked. Picard had wanted to forget the image since it was taken, knowing that he had been the cause of it.

“Your mother, that day, did something very brave, yet very foolish, in an attempt to reason….with me. This scar is the result of that.” After Cecilia examined the picture again, she knew what it was. She had a few, herself.

“She cut herself, didn’t she? After she was assimilated.” There was a long pause.

“After she had been assimilated, we partially managed to get her mind back under our control, but it was only temporary. She tried to reason with me, but I refused to listen. To show me how wrong I was, she mutilated herself.” There was a long pause.

“Did she ever tell you that James and I-”

“Gained her memories? Yes, we knew from when your brother was born. Vanessa….knew.”

“I….kind of know what happened. It’s vague, though.”

“I would find it hard to believe if either you or her remembered it clearly. It was a very difficult day.”

“And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“When…. _ you _ were assimilated by the Borg.” There was a very long pause. The Admiral hesitantly pulled up another picture. It was of himself, all those years ago, when he had been assimilated. There was a piece of equipment installed on the right side of his face, all the color drained from his skin. Cecilia saw the image and the living being line up together, and she hated the thought of it. She could see on his face how much it had scarred the Admiral, internally. He was affected by the assimilation beyond words or comprehension. Gathering a little bit of courage, Cecilia leaned forward and took his hand in hers. The two of them locked eyes, as the projection image closed.

“Cecilia,” Picard began to say.

“Look,” she cut him off softly, “I know that I don’t know, but I do…. _ know _ . And I am promising you that you will  _ always _ have a sanctuary in me.”

Day carried on into night and Cecilia had stayed mostly in her room, thinking over everything. She continued to think over and over about Maddox’s death. She experienced the seizure at the exact time Maddox had begun to die, and it lasted until his soul left his body. It could have been her mental sensitivity acting up, but she didn’t think that that was the case. She had checked everything and still came to the same conclusion: Bruce Maddox’s heart should not have given out. He had been weak, but definitely stabilized. Something wasn’t right with Jurati. Cecilia knew that Jurati and Maddox had been intimate, but there was something off about how the Doctor was handling it. Feeling rather cold and lonely, Cecilia let her mind slip into the void, searching for Narek’s connection again.

“Narek?” she whispered, hoping that she’d hear his voice. She waited, only to receive no response. “Narek,” she called again, trying to go deeper into the void.

“Now isn’t a good time, Cecilia,” she heard his voice respond.

“But Narek-” she began to argue. She stopped herself before she could continue. “Okay. This probably will be the last time you hear from me.” The Vulcan internally begged for a response, but was left in silence, instead. She had thought that maybe if she caught Narek’s attention, he would be able to speak with her for just a few moments, but her plan was unsuccessful. She felt lonely, so incredibly lonely. Cecilia feared what was to come, and the coldness of space didn’t help. She looked over at Juno’s squeaky toy, which was sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. Juno was the one who had gotten her through lonely and sad times, but Juno wasn’t here now. It was just Cecilia. Hating the way she felt, Cecilia approached her door, planning to go downstairs and get something to drink, when she heard voices outside the door. It was Jurati and Rios. Cecilia wondered what they were doing up.

“Can’t sleep?” she heard the pilot ask the doctor.

“Why do you like it out here? It’s cold, empty, and it wants to kill you.” There was a pause.

“Here, take a drink.” Cecilia started to question herself. Why did she, as well, like it out in space? She felt lonely whenever she traveled through it. She felt small, like a mere pebble floating in a never-ending ocean, just being shoved wherever the waves took her. “You and Maddox were close? If you need to talk or tell me anything, I’m here.” Cecilia envied Jurati. She had made a close enough friend already to keep her distracted from the loneliness. Even though the Vulcan had potentially Elnor to talk to, she didn’t know if they were  _ there  _ yet. Why, why couldn’t they be  _ there  _ yet? Jurati said something else, but it was muffled. “What’s wrong?”

“I have a superpower. I can sense mistakes while I’m making them.”

“That’s not much of a superpower.”

“It’s useless.”

“Hey, that’s okay. Tell me what you feel.”

“Hollow. Hopeless.”

“Lonely,” Cecilia and Jurtai concluded in unison, even though they couldn’t hear each other.

“Afraid,” the doctor continued. Cecilia didn’t bother listening, until she heard the two walking away. She exited her room, heading downstairs to the replicator area.

“Hot chocolate,” she ordered. Once the warm mug appeared in front of her, she placed it on the closest table. “Oatmeal, blueberry and banana topping, warm.” The bowl appeared and she placed it next to the mug, sitting down at the table. Even though she wasn’t hungry, she started eating the oatmeal. This wasn’t the first time that Cecilia was feeling so depressed. At the beginning of the four years of her living with Picard, she struggled incredibly with her inner demons. Picard had worked so hard to help her, even though he didn’t know her entire struggle. Why was she so lonely? Why did she feel so lost? Cecilia thought that when she first contacted Narek, she’d have someone to confide in, but now Narek wasn’t there. Maybe if Seven had stayed with them, then she’d have the Ranger to talk to. It was pointless. ‘What If’ scenarios didn’t have any meaning. What still did have meaning? Did the relationships she was forming have meaning? Had the relationships even formed? Cecilia shook her head a little, then putting her earbuds in her pointed ears. She scrolled through different songs until she came across one titled “Sanctuary” by Welshly Arms. She knew the song, but couldn’t quite remember it, so she let it start to play:

When the darkness

don’t let you sleep

I will hold you close

When space is all

you need

I can let you go

And if the spark in

your eye goes out

I can be your glow,

bringing you home

I see your hurt,

I feel your pain

All of our dirt is washed

in the rain

I’ve walked that road,

I’ve felt that shame

No place is home, but

times, they are changing

This is our sanctuary

We can find shelter and

peace

This is our sanctuary

You are, you are,

safe with me

Sanctuary. What did it truly mean anymore? Where was Cecilia’s sanctuary? She wasn’t safe with anyone. Not Picard, not Elnor, not Seven, no one. Jurati was right; everything in space wanted to kill them. She didn’t feel safe. Was this even worth it? Cecilia didn’t know. She began to feel a pull from the void, and instantly knew that, somehow, Narek had tried to form a connection. How he was able to do it, she would probably never know. She allowed the link to connect.

“Cecilia,” Narek called. She didn’t reply. “I know you’re there, Cecilia. I didn’t have the time to talk earlier, but I have a little time now.” The Vulcan kept her silence. “Cecilia, come on. You’re acting like a child. Cecilia.” She cut off the link, terminating any further communication with Narek, for that moment. How much was one moment worth? A single moment in time, what was its value? Cecilia had tossed this question around in her mind so many times before. Would that one moment with Narek have been worth something? She glanced at her scarred wrist, thinking about how many times she had considered adding another mark. This was one of those times. What difference would one scar make?

“Cecilia?” a familiar voice said. The Vulcan looked up, quickly covering her exposed wrist.

“Elnor, what are you doing up?” she asked. He sat down across from her.

“I could ask you the same question. You should be sleeping.”

“You should be, too.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Neither could I.”

“It’s sad.”

“What is?”

“That you’re all alone here.” Cecilia shrugged, even though she agreed with him.

“It’s not easy to feel like you’re the only one left.”

“It’s alright to feel lonely, but it doesn’t seem to have a point, since the fact remains that you, as of now, aren’t alone. You’re with me.” The comment got a chuckle out of the Vulcan. Elnor was…. _ innocent _ , to a point. Sometimes innocence was the best medicine. Cecilia had faced too much darkness; she needed someone who had seen too much of the  _ light _ , and not enough of the darkness. They were night and day, the sun and the moon, the very light and darkness that separated them. With Narek, was it the same? No. No, it wasn’t. Narek lacked that light; it was more than obvious. Placing him against Cecilia was the same as comparing the darkness of night to the darkness of a black hole. “What are your scars from? Some of mine are from battle training, but I don’t believe you’ve been through the training of the Qowat Milat before.”

“Oh, um….” Cecilia had never told anyone about her scars, but she had also never been asked before. She hesitantly placed her hands on the table, letting her scars show, but she didn’t do it in a way to necessarily show them to Elnor.

“I did not mean to make you uncomfortable,” Elnor told her, realizing how silent she had become.

“No, it’s not you. These scars are just very….personal.”

“Was it caused by someone close to you? Is that why it’s personal?”

“Um, no. These scars….um, well….they were caused…..by me, Elnor. I did it to myself a long time ago.” A look of confusion and concern spread over the Romulan’s face.

“Why would you ever harm yourself? I don’t understand.”

“I was in a really dark place, mentally, at that time. When your mind isn’t in the right place, it can really do things to people.”

“Oh. I’m not sure if I fully understand, but I think I do.”

“It’s a difficult thing to understand. A lot of people don’t.”

“I’m sorry for the pain you’ve endured.”

“I don’t think like that anymore,” she partially lied. “It’s helped a lot since I found Picard four years ago.”

“Who are you to him?”

“I’ve asked myself that question a lot, actually. My mom used to be his former Commander. Picard grew to love her like family. I got into some trouble four years ago, so my mom told me to find him. I guess she thought he could help me get my life back on track.”

“Has he?”

“I don’t know yet. I mean, he brought me with him here to find someone that might be important. If it makes even the smallest difference in the galaxy, even in just one person, then maybe he has.”

“I think you’re making a difference.” Cecilia smiled a little.

“Even though everyone else says that, I need to determine that on my own, you know? I need to choose what I think is right to do with my life.”

“It’s good that you believe in free will.”

“Everyone has a choice, Elnor. It’s just up to each person to decide what is the  _ right _ choice. And maybe the right choice for us is to try and get some sleep. It’ll screw us both over if we wake up tired in the morning.”

“I understand.” Cecilia moved to stand up. “What do you think will happen to us after all of this?”

“Well, I’m hoping that we’ll go back to Earth to get my dog, and then maybe you’ll stay with us for a while. I don’t know. We’ll just have to figure it out when we get there. Goodnight, Elnor.” Truthfully, Cecilia didn’t want to go back to her room. She wanted to stay with Elnor. He made the loneliness fade away, and expelled the darkness that surrounded her. The problem was that she feared what would continue if they were to stay with each other at that moment. It would deepen into something that Cecilia knew she wasn’t ready for. Just before she could walk away, Elnor stood up and pulled her into a deep hug. It was something she truly needed, just for her own comfort. She hugged him back, feeling the smooth and soft fabric of his clothes. The hug broke mutually after a few seconds.

“Goodnight, Cecilia,” he whispered in her ear. She smiled at him and started walking back upstairs. There was much more they wanted to say to each other, but neither truly had the courage to start that conversation. No, their simple ‘goodnight’ had been sufficient enough, for the time being. It was all they really needed.

“In a few hours, we’ll be crossing out of the old neutral zone and into Romulan territory,” Rios explained. “It puts us in breach of galactic treaty, but I’m fine with that, since I know you have a plan for accessing a restricted Romulan research facility on a Borg Cube crawling with Tal Shiar without authorization.” Cecilia was in her seat at the right hand control panel, Picard leaning against the panel next to her. Rios was in his normal chair, with Elnor standing behind him. Cecilia wasn’t exactly tired, but she  _ was  _ on her second cup of highly creamed coffee, with peppermint flavoring. “Also, without dying.”

“I’ve been giving it some thought,” Picard started to respond, “and I believe that-”

“I thought that maybe we could post as scientists,” Jurati interrupted, walking over to the group. “Given my qualifications-”

“It won’t work. If the Romulans don’t recognize me, or Cecilia, the moment we set foot off the ship, the Borg will.” The Vulcan’s physical appearance was, yet again, her downfall. She looked too much like her mother, and having her mother’s memories didn’t help much, either. “The Collective do not forget one of their own. The only safe way to access the cube is the Qowat Milat way, by being perfectly open.”

“That is the Qowat Milat way,” Elnor confirmed. The entire room went silent for a few moments. Jurati and Rios were glancing at each other. “The obvious tension between the two of you makes me uneasy.” Cecilia’s eyes began to water, as she did her best to hold back a laugh or smile.

“I can use my mom’s clearance to get a pass for myself onto the Artifact, and don’t bother protesting, I already sent a message through subspace to her office. She’ll probably get it tonight. She’s been fine with me using her clearance before,” Cecilia explained to the group. “I’m not sure how you’re going to get the clearance, though.” She turned to Picard.

“There’s an organization on the Artifact called ‘the Borg Reclamation Project’. It maintains its independence through the treaty. If we can get Federation diplomatic credentials as an envoy to the project, then the Romulans will be forced to let me meet with the director, or risk another incident with the Federation,” he replied.

“What if the director doesn’t want to meet with you?” Jurati questioned.

“I know him, and I’m sure he will.”

“Remind me why the Federation would bother doing this for you.”

“They’re not doing it for me.”

The group somehow managed to lure Raffi out of her room. The woman was an angry mess. She slammed her bottle of alcohol down on the left hand control panel.

“Okay, okay, just back off,” she snapped. Everyone was on high alert, not knowing how Raffi would react to anything. “Back off. Everyone just give me some space. You want me to sweet-talk the Federation.”

“This is a bad idea,” Rios commented.

“Then stand back and keep your mouths shut.” Picard and Rios retreated. The Admiral leaned on the back of Cecilia’s chair. The Vulcan pulled up the contact logs chart, letting Raffi have the visual. “Computer, requesting subspace relay through Commnet 4, using my cryptonym, to the following.” Raffi was a complete mess; it was the worst Cecilia had seen. She and Picard exchanged glances, but then turned back towards Raffi. The projector popped up. A woman in a Starfleet uniform with ebony skin was on the screen.

“Commander Raffaela Musicker,” the woman greeted.

“Emmy,” Raffi answered in response.

“I knew I should have screened that call.”

“Oh, come on, you can’t get rid of me. I know where all your bodies are buried. Ancient history.”

“What do you need?”

“What, so I only call you when I need something?”

“Or when you’re lit and feeling sentimental.”

“Well, listen, babe, I need some diplomatic credentials. Not for me, for Jean-Luc Picard.”

“Picard? You’re working with him again?”

“Mhm.”

“Where’s he going?”

“To the Artifact.”

“Ha, ha. Seriously, where’s he going?”

“No, they have this Borg Reclamation Project going. I guess JL needs to meet with the director. It’s kind of a little personal mission he’s on.”

“I wish I could help, Raffi, but this one isn’t something I can do. Access is for scientific research only. The whole Romulan angle makes it a very uncertain proposition. They’re in a 250 year bad mood.”

“It would mean a lot to the Admiral.”

“Like I said, wish I could help.”

“No, no, hey, I understand. It’s just that it might be a little awkward when we show up there in about, what, three hours from now?” Raffi glanced over at Cecilia, who nodded in response.

“What?!”

“Sending my location.”

“Wait, Raffi, wait, who authorized you to even be out there?”

“You know Picard. Every part of him that’s not ego is rampaging id.”

“Listen to me very carefully, turn around immediately. Do not proceed.”

“Too late.”

“If you go without permission, it’s technically an act of  _ war _ .”

“I know. And even if you deny involvement, the Romulans aren’t going to buy it, right? Picard’s so Federation, that his face is still probably on the damn brochures. Which is why I’m giving you this heads-up. Look, we do this properly. Diplomatic mission. Office letter of credence. I don’t want to end up on the wrong side of a disruptor cannon, Emmy. Hell, I’m still planning on drinking myself to death.”

“Should we be concerned?” Cecilia whispered up to Picard. He nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder, with a look of defeat on his face. There was a pause.

“Twenty-four hours. In and out,” the woman, Emmy, finally replied. “Raffi, I’m saying this as an old friend, never call me again.” The call ended. There was a long moment of silence, until Picard started the applause, which carried on until everyone else was clapping. Raffi looked rather annoyed. She attempted to walk back to her room, but tripped almost instantly from the alcohol in her system.

“You’re the best,” Cecilia called to her, as Rios helped her back to the room. She didn’t get a response, but that was okay. She knew that Raffi had heard her, and Cecilia hoped that maybe she’d remember it later.

“Per your urgent request, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard is hereby granted temporary credentials as the Federation’s special envoy to the Borg Reclamation Project,” Rios read from the message, as the ship approached the Cube. Cecilia had sloppily gathered whatever she might’ve needed and shoved it into her bag. “For a purpose consisting of and limited to meeting with the project’s executive director. The credentials are valid for Admiral Picard and shall not be renewed. The diplomatic clearance of Vanessa Kassidy Williams will also be used for the same reason, in order to grant access to Cecilia Annalee Williams.” Cecilia didn’t pay much attention to what Rios was saying. Something wasn’t right with Picard; she could feel it. He had such a feeling of….dread.

“We have to stay on the ship?” Jurati asked.

“I assume so,” Picard replied.

“You look disappointed,” Rios commented.

“No, relieved,” the doctor told him.

“We haven’t been cleared to land. The Romulans restricted you two to specific beam-in coordinates.”

“Of course, I’ll come with you two,” Elnor spoke up.

“You heard,” Picard told him, his tone being somewhat flat. “Only Cecilia and myself.”

“The pledge I made to you is stronger than some diplomatic credential.”

“You think I want us to go with no one else? It’s either just us, or not at all.”

“I already hate this place.”

“Rios, I’ll keep communications open. And, no matter what,  _ you do not leave this ship _ ,” Picard told Elnor. “Is that clear?” The Romulan didn’t answer, but walked away. Cecilia almost stopped him, but knew that it wouldn’t have been better if she did. They approached the transporter platform. Picard was nervous, it was more than obvious, even without an ability.

“Hey,” she said in a gentle tone, just loud enough to get the Admiral’s attention. He looked at her. “I just want you to know that I’ll be right here the entire time. I won’t leave. I’ll be right at your side the entire time. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together, okay?” There was a pause between them, as their green eyes connected. Picard held out his hand to her. As they stepped onto the transporter platform, she took it.

When Cecilia and Picard beamed onto the Artifact, Cecilia was suddenly overcome with a feeling she couldn’t describe, but she knew it was intense. Her mother refused to talk about anything having to do with the Borg. That never stopped Cecilia and James. Each of them inherited a memory from their mother. James gained Vanessa’s memory of when Picard has been assimilated. Cecilia, on the other hand, gained the memory of her mother’s assimilation. A very small part of Cecilia was now slightly connected to the Borg Collective, just as her mother and brother were, as well. Cecilia didn’t even realize that she had taken a few steps forward. The entire place felt familiar, and she didn’t particularly like the feeling.

“Captain….?” she heard herself whisper. Cecilia was overcome with a rush of unwanted familiarity. Her mind was being flooded with images from her mother’s memories. She could hear, in her mind, a song that she knew well. It was ‘Leave a Light On’ by Tom Walker. Cecilia felt completely paralyzed and it was beginning to terrify her.

The second someone

mentioned you were all alone

I could feel the trouble 

coursing through your veins

Now I know,

it’s got a hold

Just a phone call left unanswered

had me sparking up

These cigarettes won’t stop me

wondering where you are

Don’t let go,

keep a hold

If you look into the distance,

there’s a house upon the hill

Guiding like a lighthouse to a

place where you’ll be safe

To feel our grace ‘cause

we’ve all made mistakes

If you’ve lost your way

I will leave the light on

Tears were beginning to burn in her eyes, as she re-lived her mother’s experience in flashes. She finally understood why Vanessa never wanted to talk about the Borg.

“Cecilia,” Picard’s voice broke her from her trance. Cecilia looked at him with an expression he knew all too well. However, he didn’t need to say anything for Cecilia to know that he understood. Actually,  _ Cecilia  _ was the one who finally had a grasp of understanding. She wanted to speak, but no words came out of her mouth.

“It’s alright,” a man standing in front of them said. His face was a little scarred. He had a smile that Cecilia also found to be familiar.

“Cecilia, this is Hugh. He’s an old friend,” Picard told her.

“Don’t worry, I know it’s overwhelming at first,” Hugh said to her.

“Yeah,” Cecilia heard herself reply.

“Vanessa’s daughter, no doubt. You look just like your mother.”

“I get that a lot.” Cecilia still couldn’t fully wrap her head around what had just happened to her. About what happened to her own mother. Hugh and Picard both knew what Cecilia had experienced, and they both knew her mind had to adjust.

“It’s very good to see you again, Hugh,” Picard greeted his old friend.

“As to you, Admiral,” Hugh answered. They hugged in a friendly embrace. It had been many many years since the two had seen each other. “Welcome to the Borg Reclamation Project. I’m not sure why you’re here, but I’ll help you in any way I can.”

“Thank you. So much.”

Hugh led Cecilia and Picard around, showing them highlights of his project. It really was a great cause Hugh was supporting; to allow those who had once been assimilated reclaim their identity and individuality. Cecilia tried her hardest to pay attention to everything Hugh was saying, but her mind kept going over what had happened; reanalyzing every detail until it was seared into her memory. She had her hood up and her head down. A part of her was almost ashamed of herself to be there. She didn’t belong there.

“Coming back is hard,” Hugh was saying. “I know. It’s not a place any of us would want to come back to.”

“How can you stand it?” Picard questioned. “Why would you choose to live here?”

“The project needed a director. At least, as a citizen of the Federation, I could leave any time, unlike the other xBs.”

“XBs?”

“Former Borg. It’s what we call ourselves.” Picard subtly pulled Cecilia’s hood down from the back of her head. He knew that her mind was trying to reboot itself, but a part of him was just relieved that she wasn’t shutting down. Cecilia would never know how lucky she was only to experience a few moments of a memory. Picard and Hugh, on the other hand, had lived through the experience for  _ much _ longer than just a few moments. “A new name can be the first step to a new identity. I learned that on the Enterprise, all those years ago.” Cecilia’s ears perked a little when she heard the name of the prized ship that she and her brother had idolized since they were children. As they walked, Picard and one of the xBs locked eyes for a moment. Picard looked away, keeping his head down a bit. Cecilia, noticing this, gained a little bit of courage and picked her head up just enough to be standing up straight. “This is not the Borg Cube, anymore,” Hugh said to Picard, noticing the same thing Cecilia did. “This is the Artifact, and  _ you  _ are Jean-Luc Picard, not Locutus. All that is behind you.” Although Hugh’s words were directed at Picard, Cecilia was taking it in. She wished her mother could have been listening.

“Thank you, Hugh. You’re right. It was a very long time ago.” Hugh smiled a little, glad he could offer some comfort to his friend, no matter how small it was.

“What can I help you with?”

“We’re looking for someone,” Cecilia answered, before she could stop herself.

“They….appear human, from Earth. She may be engaged in some research here,” Picard further explained. “Her name is Soji.”

“Doctor Soji Asha,” Hugh instantly recognized. Both Picard and Cecilia’s hopes rose a little.

“Yes.”

“I take it she’s in serious danger?” Hugh’s sentence sounded more like a statement than a question, but it was, nevertheless, a question. Cecilia was noticing all these little details, with her head now much more clearer. She just needed that little push forward.

“What….why would you ask that?”

“Something about her. Something about you coming this far to this place, and something about the dashing young Romulan spy who showed up two weeks ago pretending not to be asking about her.” Cecilia felt the blood drain from her face, and then rush to her face, going through the process at least twice. Her empathic ability was starting to give warning signs, and it was being clearly shown on her face.

“What do you feel?” Picard asked her. There was a pause.

“Dread,” she replied.

“Hugh, can you take us to her? Now?”

“Follow me.”

Hugh led the Admiral and the Vulcan to a place that had many xBs; more than they had previously seen. It looked almost like a type of hospital ward. Cecilia wasn’t sure what it was, but she could feel the dread building up inside of her.

“What is this place?” Picard asked.

“It’s where our patients come to recover after the trauma of the reclamation procedure,” Hugh explained.

“I would have never believed it. Assimilation could be undone on this scale, and by Romulans, no less.” Picard observed everything in fascination, while Cecilia watched in caution. She walked around hesitantly, making sure not to stray too far. There was a particular presence around her that she was extremely unsure of.

“Narek?” she whispered to herself.

“What do you think?” Hugh asked her, not hearing what she had said.

“It really is a remarkable thing you’re doing here. You’re giving people a second chance at life. That’s something that’s difficult to come by,” she replied, walking a little with him.

“Your mother agreed when I last contacted her. I was glad for her support.”

“She believes in helping people. Especially people who have been through similar things as her.”

“Indeed. You’re very much like her.” Cecilia smiled a little and nodded, even though she didn’t fully mean it. “Did she ever tell you about this project?”

“No. She doesn’t like to talk about anything having to do with the Borg. My brother is more well-versed on the subject than I am.”

“Ah, I see. It’s perfectly understandable for her to feel that way. Assimilation is not exactly a pleasant process.”

“I know. I mean, I don’t know because I haven’t personally experienced it, but I do know from….” Cecilia allowed her voice to trail off, getting tripped up on her words.

“It’s alright. Vanessa told me. She had hoped that either you or your brother would someday become a part of the project, knowing both of you had her memories. You two understand why it’s so serious.”

“James would be a great candidate to take part in everything you do here. Cybernetics is really his field.”

“And you? What’s your main field?”

“Um, engineering, mechanics. I was a music student, but minored in engineering.” She didn’t want to admit to Hugh that she was a Starfleet dropout.

“That’s a good field. There’s many positions for it now.” Cecilia nodded in response. “Your mother is very proud of you.”

“Thank you.” Cecilia, internally, wasn’t really sure if she believed that. Picard walked back over to them a few seconds later.

“You are doing such amazing things, Hugh. You are showing the galaxy what the Borg are underneath. They’re victims.”

“They, unfortunately, still remain the most hated beings in the galaxy.”

“They’re people. Not monsters.”

“They are still just enslaved as before. Only now, the Queen is a Romulan.” There was a long pause between all three. Cecilia would never be able to fully comprehend the true magnitude of Hugh’s work, but Picard and anyone else who lived during the time of the Borg understood all too well.

“Thank you for showing me this.”

“No one would understand it better than you. And a Picard that would advocate for a free Borg, that would be quite a thing, wouldn’t it?” Cecilia pursed her lips a little, not particularly liking that comment. That was part of Hugh’s motivation behind showing them this; to gain Picard’s support and project it to the Federation, as well as Starfleet. “As you did come all this way, it seems Soji called in today. Let’s see if we could go find her for you.” They followed Hugh, but Cecilia felt a growing sensation of dread and an even greater feeling of distrust.

The three reached Soji’s room within less than ten minutes. No one was there. It was a mess, but not in the typical college-age young adult style. There were pictures scattered on a table.

“What’s all this?” Hugh asked, as they entered the room. Cecilia and Picard immediately went to the table of pictures. There was one picture that had been torn in half. The Vulcan held up one half, and the Admiral held up the other. It was Soji and Dahj, but neither of them could tell which was which. Cecilia couldn’t help but mentally notice how pretty they both were. Prettier than her, happier than her, they were perfect. She shoved the thoughts away, but knew that they’d return eventually, which wasn’t something she wanted in the slightest.

“I think she’s close to discovering who she really is,” Picard answered.

“What do you mean?” Hugh questioned. “Who is she?”

“There’s no time. We must find her, Hugh, please.” Hugh held up a hologram of the Cube, scanning it over.

“It says she’s not on the Cube. That’s impossible.”

“Unless….someone has concealed her.” There was a pause for only a few seconds, until a green moving dot appeared on the hologram.

“She’s back online.”

“Where is she?”

“It looks like she’s between two levels. It’s showing her moving way too fast.”

“She’s been activated,” Picard replied, a tone of almost horror filling his voice. “You must take me to her. Now!” As Hugh and Picard ran out of the room, Cecilia stayed back for only a few moments, moving as quickly as she could. She sloppily collected all of the pictures on the table, shoving them into the photo album that accompanied them. Organizing it quickly, yet still sloppily, she shoved the collection into the pocket of her jacket. She also grabbed a tiny stuffed animal, which appeared to be a cat, off the bed and shoved it into her other pocket. These were personal things to Soji. It was the least Cecilia could do. Once she was sure that she had everything and it was secure, she broke out into a sprint to catch up to Hugh and Picard. She easily did, and neither of them had taken notice of her absence.

“Straight ahead,” Hugh announced.

“Locutus?” an unfamiliar voice asked from somewhere around them. Cecilia had heard that name before. Either her mother had said something about it, or it was from her mother’s memories that she inherited, but she wasn’t sure. Picard turned for only a second, but then continued to follow Hugh, knowing that he couldn’t focus on that. Cecilia made a mental note of the occurrence. The three skidded to a stop when a sound was heard above the area in front of them. The glass of the ceiling broke and Soji fell to the ground in front of them. Cecilia couldn’t help but think that she was prettier in person, even though she was the exact replica of Dahj and had already seen her before. They were both so beautiful.

“Soji?” Picard questioned. She examined him with her eyes.

“Do you know me?” she asked in reply.

“My name is Jean-Luc Picard. I’m a-a friend of your father’s and your sister’s,” he stuttered out. He fumbled to pull out Dahj’s necklace out of his pocket, holding it in front of her. “Your sister came to see me, wanting my help. I couldn’t help her, but please, Soji, let me help you.”

“You know what’s happening to me?”

“I do. Let me explain-”

“Romulans,” Hugh cut him off.

“Lots of them,” Cecilia added, looking at the hologram.

“Hugh, get us out of here,” Picard ordered, his tone urgent but softening. Hugh moved to start leading them. “Come, come,” Picard urged Soji, holding out his hand to her. She didn’t make a move at first. Cecilia didn’t move either. Soji obviously didn’t trust them. She had every reason not to. “ _ Please _ , trust us,” the Admiral begged. She slightly shook her head, in a way that she was internally questioning why she was doing this, but then started to follow. Cecilia was the last of the group to follow, knowing that if someone somehow got left behind, she’d be a decent candidate. She didn’t know as much as Picard and didn’t really have much useful information that they’d be able to pull from her. They ran down corridors, until Hugh stopped at a wall. He started pressing all kinds of buttons on his controller that was strapped to his arm.

“Which way?” Cecilia asked, keeping a lookout on both sides of the hall. If needed, she would buy them as much time as they needed to escape, even if it meant leaving her there. They followed Hugh, as he hurried down a small entranceway, turning on lights as he moved. Cecilia was swept with an overwhelming feeling of familiarity, making her turn to see what room they were entering, as the door they came through closed.

“This is the Queen’s cell,” Picard stated. “I-”

“Remember it,” Cecilia cut him off. He looked at her with a confused expression, not comprehending how  _ she  _ remembered it.

“Without ever being here,” Hugh added.

“Yes.”

“Same here. It’s all just-”

“There,” Cecilia concluded. She didn’t like that she knew this room. It didn’t feel right. Or good. It made her feel uneasy and hesitant. There was something about it. It made her feel sick. Hugh was working away at a small control console, activating something which made a noise that made them all turn. Some sort of….chamber or device or  _ something  _ began to lower from the ceiling and its counterpart rising from the floor. Hugh inserted a small glass object into the counterpart from the floor. He was working away at certain holograms. Another device rose from the floor.

“This came after your time. It’s a spacial projector. The Borg received the technology after they assimilated Sakarrians. It was designed for the queen, if there was ever a need for her to evacuate. It has a theoretical range of-”

“Forty thousand lightyears,” Cecilia and Soji answered in unison. They looked at each other for a minute. They didn’t even know each other’s names.

“By the way, I’m Cecilia,” she told Soji.

“Soji.”

“I know.” There was a pause, but then Picard tapped his communicator.

“Raffi, we found a way to get off the Cube, but we have to go now, and set a rendezvu.”

“Rendezvu? To where? Where are you going?” she questioned.

“Nepenthe. Rios, do you know it?” Nepenthe. How did Cecilia know that name? It sounded so familiar.

“Sure,” Rios replied, “but how are you getting there?”

“Just meet us there.” He shut the communicator off. There were suddenly sounds of a struggle, making everyone turn. Elnor was walking towards them, having taken out a patrol. Soji backed up, Picard looked frustrated, but Cecilia started getting a major smile on her face. “Elnor, I told you to stay on the ship!”

“Yes. I didn’t listen,” Elnor responded. There were basically hearts filling Cecilia’s eyes. Picard, on the other hand, figured Cecilia had something to do with it. There was a short pause.

“Thank you,” the Admiral told him.

“More guards are coming,” Soji said, breaking up the little reunion, if it could even be called that. “I can hear them.”

“She’s right,” Hugh confirmed, looking at the hologram of the Cube. “We’re almost at full power. Go and I’ll keep them from tracing you.” Cecilia suddenly felt internally torn between her loyalty to Picard and the defense of the Cube.

“Elnor, come, This thing will take us to a safer place.”

“I’ll stay,” the warrior stated. Cecilia suddenly felt even more torn, except now, it was between Picard and her new friendship, and extreme liking, for Elnor. The hearts in her eyes suddenly faded away and were replaced with confliction. “I’ll stay behind and cover your escape. My pledge is to defend you.” Soji took notice of Cecilia slightly shaking her head, and a look of what could have been called fear spreading across her face. She didn’t know what connection the two had, but assumed it was deep.

“Then I release you.”

“I decline to be released.” Elnor had his sword in his hand.

“What are you doing?”

“Preparing to fight.”

“They’re getting closer,” Soji announced, which delivered an internal blow to Cecilia.

“It’s ready,” Hugh added. “Step through.”

“Elnor, I will not leave you behind again,” Picard insisted. There were so many things the Vulcan standing next to him wanted to say, but she couldn’t even form enough thoughts to say anything and Picard knew that.

“It brings me joy to hear you say that.” Elnor seemed so collected and composed, but Cecilia couldn’t understand how or why. She wasn’t sure of much in her life, but she was  _ adamant  _ about how she felt towards Elnor. At the top of her list, she wanted him to be safe. Safe with her. “Now go. You came so far, but they’ll destroy everyone if you stay.” Picard hesitated, and Cecilia internally begged for him to say something that would change Elnor’s mind, because she knew that she couldn’t. The Admiral only nodded a little in response, then turning to Soji.

“Come,” he told her, leading her towards the portal. “Cecilia, you too.” Cecilia hesitated more than she ever had before, and took a small step towards the portal. Elnor grabbed her arm to stop her for a minute. She looked up at him. He held something out to her in his other hand. She looked down at it. It was Juno’s chew toy. She must have left it on the ship. Elnor placed it in her hand, squeaking it twice.

“Woof woof,” he said to her, adding in a little subtle wink. She wanted to cry at that moment. Cecilia truly felt that she was leaving behind now two beings that she loved. She had left her best friend on Earth, and now Elnor on the Cube. She took it as almost betrayal. She quickly slid off her Starfleet ring and placed it on his hand, knowing that it fit perfectly on his little finger. He wouldn’t lose it and it wouldn’t fall off.

“You hold onto this and you can get it back to me when we see each other again, you understand me?” she told him, an insistent tone in her voice. It was the only way she could keep herself from crying. Elnor smiled and gave her a quick hug, which was a first for both of them.

“Cecilia,  _ let’s go _ ,” Picard ordered. The hug was broken and Cecilia just stood there for a moment. Picard instantly knew what she was considering, and he couldn’t allow her to do that. He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the portal, but she only kept looking back at Elnor, all the way up until the second she was through the portal and he was out of her sight. Elnor slid the ring onto his little finger.

“You know, she’s the type that doesn't take promises lightly,” Hugh told him. “She’s a lot like her mother. You’re going to get that ring back to her.”

“I know. It is a promise. How much time do you need?” Hugh was already working on starting to shut the power down and conceal the room they were standing in.

“It takes a few minutes to get everything shut down for sure.”

“I’ll get you those few minutes. Just stay behind me.” Elnor held his sword ready, knowing he had a long way ahead of him. With a ring on the wrong finger, a promise in his heart, and a new obligation in his mind, he prepared himself for the battle he was about to endure.


	7. Something to Lose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, long chapter!
> 
> Songs used/referenced to go to their rightful owners ( House of Gold by twenty one pilots, Love Someone by Lukas Graham, The Book of You and I by Alec Benjamin, Perfect Doesn't Last by Beth Crowley, and The Cave by Mumford and Sons). 
> 
> Trigger warning

Eight years ago….

Nepenthe had always been a quiet planet, covered in peaceful forests, where the only sounds were bird chirps and gentle running streams. This particular day, however, the sunlit forest was filled with soft strumming of a ukulele, and the sweet sound of a child’s singing voice.The little girl that was responsible for the music was a little more than eleven years old. She was lying in a hammock that was strung between two trees. Her ukulele had a bright red rose painted on it. Her uncle had helped her paint it. For the past few months, she had been living with her aunt, uncle and two cousins (one being five, and the other being nine). She continued to sing to the ukulele:

Let’s say we up

and left this town

And turned our

future upside down

We’ll make pretend

that you and me

Lived ever after

happily

She asked me, “Son,

when I grow old

Will you buy me a

house of gold?

And when your father

turns to gold

Will you take care

of me?”

The song was ‘House of Gold’ by twenty one pilots. It was one that her dad always enjoyed. She missed her parents. They were both still alive, but had run into some trouble that threatened their child. The safest place for her was with their closest friends, whom the little girl called her aunt and uncle.

“Cecilia!” her aunt called from the house.

“Coming!” The little girl left the ukulele on the hammock, where it would remain for the rest of the day, with the sun shining down on it and leaves falling softly onto its surface.

Present day….

Cecilia, Soji and Picard appeared in the middle of a small forest pathway. There was a slight breeze and the sound of birds chirping. Soji fell to the ground, while Picard and Cecilia remained standing. Even as unshed tears burned her eyes, the place seemed familiar to Cecilia, but she couldn’t think of it. It didn’t even seem important at that moment that she knew she had been there before. She wanted to break down and cry at the fact that she left Elnor, and she finally knew a little more about Narek. She could sense it all. Soji caught her breath after a few moments. A few twigs cracked from up above them, causing the trio to look up. A figure dressed in a hooded and cloaked outfit had an arrow pointed at them with an obviously hand-crafted bow. The three raised their hands in surrender, as the figure approached them.

“You might want to point that thing at my head,” Picard told the figure. “My heart is solid duritanium.” The figure adjusted her aim, coming into view.

“You said this was a safe place,” Soji commented. Cecilia’s eyes focused on the face of the young girl in front of her. She recognized that face immediately.

“Holy shit,” the Vulcan said, starting to put her hands down. “Cousin Kestra?” The girl’s blue eyes instantly filled with recognition.

“Cece,” Kestra announced, lowering her arrow. The two girls hugged, happily laughing, even though tears were starting to stream down Cecilia’s face.

“It’s been way too long.”

Kestra started leading the three through the forest. Cecilia knew that she was leading them to the house.

“When I was eleven, my mom and dad ran into some trouble within the Federation and they decided that it would be best for me to stay here until they got it sorted out. I spent a year and a half living here,” Cecilia explained to Picard, using her walking stick to keep her steady. The Admiral was just glad that she was talking, since he knew that she would break as soon as she stopped.

“I see.” The unwanted silence fell over them, as the Vulcan started listening to Kestra and Soji’s conversation.

“He told me he was a friend of the man he called my father,” Soji was telling Kes.

“You don’t believe him?” Kes asked in response.

“I don’t believe anyone.” The teen didn’t answer, but looked at something in her hand. “What’s that?”

“It’s called a compass. It finds north. I got it from my friend, Captain Crandall, over in Infinity Lake. He’s even older than Picard. So….do you believe me?”

“Have you told me any lies yet?”

“Well, kinda. I mean, this is all just a costume. It’s like a game my brother made up. I’m not really a Viveen, Wild Girl of the Woods.”

“Hm, you had me fooled.”

“My arrows are real, though. I would never shoot you because I’m a pacifist, but I could.” Cecilia managed a smile, even though she felt that she should have been able to muster a small laugh. “This compass is also broken.” Kestra turned around towards Picard. “Who was her father?”

“Well, I….” Picard began to explain, thinking over his next few words. Cecilia slightly shook her head, having a bad feeling about this. “I imagine that you’ve heard of Commander Data.”

“Whoa, you’re an android?” Kes questioned Soji. Soji completely stopped in her tracks, which caused everyone to stop. Cecilia felt like she was going to be sick.

“Soji,” Picard stated, slightly reaching his hand out to her. “It’s alright.” Soji smacked his outstretched hand away. “Easy, easy. I know this must be very hard. EVerything you believed in, your memories, your identity….”

“My dreams, my body, my parents, my sister, all of it was fake.”

“No, no, not Dahj. Dahj was real. I am so sorry. Your sister is dead.” A tear ran down Soji’s face. “She was murdered by those people who nearly killed you.” Soji quickly composed herself, putting on a face of annoyance and neutrality.

“Whatever,” she answered flatly. Cecilia almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing. If something had happened to her brother, God only knows how she would’ve reacted. “None of this is real. Just get on with the mind game.” Soji walked away, going ahead of the others. Picard and Kestra exchanged glances.

“Dammit,” Cecilia said loudly, then walking ahead.

Kes continued to lead them onwards, but Cecilia already knew the way. The house came into sight.

“Mom! Dad!” Kestra called.

“So who are these people?” Soji asked Picard.

“We were….they’re very old friends.” They continued to walk until they reached the pathway that took them straight up to the house. The minute Cecilia turned the corner to face the back porch, she saw an all too familiar person. She broke out into a sprint.

“AUNT DEANNA!” she shouted out, just as her aunt turned to look at her.

“Cecilia?” Deanna Troi barely had any time to question, before Cecilia basically threw herself on the woman she called her aunt. “My God, Cecilia.” Deanna hugged her tightly, knowing from her own empathic ability that Cecilia really needed a hug. The Betazoid, however, was the one who broke the hug. “Look at you, you’re so grown up.”

“Where’s Uncle Rikee?” Cecilia asked.

“In the house.”

“UNCLE RIKEE!” she shrieked, practically leaping into the house. Deanna turned back to the Admiral, giving him an even greater hug than the one she gave Cecilia. The Vulcan, on the other hand, moved as fast as she could through the doors of the house. She skidded around a corner to see the man she called her uncle with his back to her. His name was William Riker. Vanessa had called him Rikee as a nickname, and it carried on to her children. They had never called him Uncle Will in all their lives, only ever Uncle Rikee. “Uncle Rikee!” Cecilia called out, making him turn around instantly.

“Cecilia?” he questioned. She sprinted over and threw her arms around his neck in a hug, which required a small jump, since Riker was 6’3 and she was a mere 5’5. Will hadn’t seen his niece in a long time, and had almost forgotten how excited she would get whenever she saw them. “Hey, kiddo, hey.” After a few moments, he placed Cecilia back on the floor, keeping his hands on her shoulders. “Hey, what are you doing here, kiddo? It’s great to see you.”

“Hello, Will,” Picard’s voice greeted from the doorway.

“Ah, oh, man,” Riker responded, letting go of Cecilia and walking over to his former Captain. The two of them hugged, making Cecilia smile. The hug disbanded after a few seconds. “You need a place to hide out? Shields up. Perimeter scans to max. We’ve had a little trouble around here lately with the Kzinti.”

“Best to run the anti-cloaking scans, too,” Picard told him.

“Romulans?”

“Mhm.”

“Initiate anti-cloaking scans. That time you were flying off to Romulus, to plan the great supernova rescue, do you remember what I said?”

“So, you want to be ass-deep in Romulans for the rest of your life?” Cecilia snickered, knowing so well that that was exactly what her uncle would’ve told her mother’s captain.

“I believe I also reminded you of Newton’s fourth law of thermodynamics.”

“No good deed goes unpunished.”

“Right.”

“I told Kestra to show your friend how to find the shower,” Deanna’s voice broke up the conversation, as she entered the house. Cecilia walked a little closer to them.

“Thank you.”

“She’s a friend?” Will asked.

“Soji. She appears fully human. Her face, her voice, her body language all expresses clear emotion. The poor thing seems traumatized. However, I sense nothing. I can’t read her.”

“I think I’m in over my head,” Picard admitted.

“We’re  _ very  _ in over our heads,” Cecilia told the truth.

“When we left Earth, I had a plan, we had a ship, we even had a crew, of sorts. Now, I’ve lost them all. The plan….well, half a plan, turned out decent, but she’s still in danger.”

“Sounds like you need a new plan,” Riker stated.

“One that starts with a nap,” Deanna added, starting to pull Picard towards a hallway.

“Stay as long as you need to. Whatever it is, we can handle it.” Picard smiled, and followed Deanna, leaving Riker and Cecilia. “Hey, kiddo, tell me about what’s been going on.”

“It’s been a lot. Picard isn’t even explaining the fact that we have no idea what in the hell is actually going on.”

“I guess we’ll be getting everything later.”

“Are Rosebud and Daisy still here? And Iris?”

“They’re all up in the guest room in the attic.” Cecilia didn’t even wait to hear the end of the sentence. She was halfway up the stairs within four long leaps, heading straight for the attic.

She flicked the light on to the room that Cecilia had called her own for over a year. It was a little dusty, nothing too major. Nothing had changed about it. The twin-sized bed was still placed up against the wall, the wooden desk still sat by the window, and the dresser was still across from the bed. The Vulcan started to smile when she saw, who she referred to as, Rosebud, Daisy and Iris. Cecilia threw her bag on the bed. Rosebud was the name of her old ukulele, which had a rose painted on it. Daisy was a hand-crafted banjo, and Iris was her violin. Cecilia smiled, but then looked under the bed. She pulled out a small flute case. Everything was still there. Even though Cecilia was happy, guilt still gnawed at her internally. Here, she was safe and possibly optimistic, but back on the Artifact, she had no idea what Elnor was facing. She  _ did _ , however, know a little more of the truth about Narek. He was on the Artifact, she knew for sure, and something wasn’t right with him. She wanted to figure out what game he was playing, and how to outplay him, before he outplayed her. Cecilia turned, hearing voices coming from outside, below her window. She walked over to the window. Kes had shown Soji to the shower, which was luckily out of Cecilia’s sight. Soji came into view, a towel wrapped around her body.

“Can you run super fast and jump really high and bend steel with your hands?” Kestra asked.

“Turns out, yes, I can.” The two started walking back towards the house. Cecilia headed to meet them in Kestra’s room.

“Hey, Cece,” Kes greeted, as she and a now-clothed Soji entered the room. Cecilia sat on the bottom bunk of Kes’s bed.

“Hey,” she replied. Kes turned back towards Soji.

“So, okay, you have blood. Do you have spit?”

“Yes,” Soji answered, drying her hair with a towel.

“Mucus?”

“Yes, I have mucus.” A little laugh came from Soji, which made Cecilia smile. Kestra jumped up to the top bunk, sitting cross-legged once she got there.

“Data  _ did not _ have mucus,” the cousins said in unison.

“You guys know a lot about Data.”

“Both our parents served with him in Starfleet, until he died,” Kes told her. “It was a long time ago, on a ship called the Enterprise. Picard was the captain. My dad said he was the greatest Starfleet captain ever.”

“He definitely was to my mom,” Cecilia added. “He pretty much considers her as his own kid.”

“It seems weird to make an android with mucus and saliva, but I guess Data would do it like that. He was always trying to be more human.”

“I don’t see how this Data could be my father,” Soji responded, crossing her arms that were covered in slightly oversized, yet comfortable, sleeves. “I mean, if I was…. _ made _ , it was probably about three years ago. Wait, why again would Data make an android with mucus and saliva?”

“He could do all these amazing things, but all he ever really wanted to do was have dreams and tell jokes and, like, learn how to ballroom dance.” Soji took a seat next to Cecilia, leaning against the headboard of the bunk bed. “Are you like that?”

“Actually, until you said the word ‘android’ back there, I was still clinging to the idea that I was human.” There was a pause, as Kestra realized what had happened.

“Oh. Are….you okay? No, no, don’t cry, I think you’re amazing.” A few tears slipped down Soji’s right cheek.

“Because I have mucus?” she managed a smile.

“And because you’re three years old, so I get to be the boss of you. Hey, I’ll be right back, give me a minute.” Once the door closed, Cecilia turned to Soji.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hi.”

“Look, um, I know that you have every reason not to trust any of us or anything, but if I talk, will you listen? You don’t have to even answer me or anything.”

“Go for it,” Soji answered with a sigh.

“This is going to be rough for you. I know it is. And even though it’s going to be rough, you still have people here for you, like me. You’re really special. Even if you were fully human, I’d still say that you’re really special. For starters, you’re gorgeous, you really are. Everything is just perfect about you. You’re brilliant, you’re kind and sweet, and you care about people. That really is something special. When Picard and I boarded the Artifact to find you, the first place we looked was your room, and I-I gathered what I could.” Cecilia pulled her jacket off, taking the items she collected out from her pockets, placing them on the bed. Soji started looking at the pictures. “I tried to get all your pictures and I also got this.” She placed the small stuffed animal, which was assumed to be a cat, into Soji’s hands. “I know that all of these have memories and they’re important to you. No matter how old these memories are, whether being a few years or a long time, they’re meaningful to you. These are  _ yours _ . No one can take them away from you. Ever. And even if someone tries to, I won’t let them because no one deserves to have that taken away. People really do love you in the world. And, hey, my mom always always said that Data was my uncle, so that means we’re cousins, you know?” There was a very long pause. Cecilia was internally praying that Soji would say something, anything. It was rare that the Vulcan poured her heart out so willingly, and it wasn’t something that was meant to be quickly dismissed.

“In a strange way, I guess,” Soji finally replied.

“Strange is still a way.” Cecilia smiled a little, but it was an empty smile. She moved to get up and leave.

“Wait. Tell me about your mom.”

“What about her?”

“Just tell me about her.”

“Well, my mom was born in the year 2253. Her name’s Vanessa. She lived on Vulcan for a while. Her mom died when she was three and she eventually got onto the Enterprise with my dad. She faced a lot of difficult times on Vulcan and she wanted to leave for a long time. When she was, I think, fifteen, there was an accident and she was exposed to radiation from a charged plasma substance. It altered her aging process, as a result, and it caused her to physically stay fifteen. Cognitively, she also stayed fifteen, but her mental capacity increased significantly.”

“So she’s over a hundred years old?” Cecilia nodded.

“Vulcans usually live longer than humans, but not as long as she’s probably going to live. When she was like a hundred ten or eleven, Picard intercepted a message to her from Starfleet. My mom had been on their list for awhile and Starfleet constantly wanted to arrest her for previous trouble she caused. Picard managed to figure out their plan and decided to take it into his own hands. He invited her to the Enterprise D, which was actually a relatively new ship, at that time. He offered her a deal; if she completed a diplomatic mission successfully with Aunt Deanna, he’d give her asylum on the Enterprise  _ and  _ a position on his bridge as a lieutenant, and Senior Science officer. She took the deal and managed to get through everything.”

“You said that Picard considers her as his kid? When did that start to happen?”

“He couldn’t stand her for the first few years. She drove him up the wall, literally on a few occasions. But I think during her third year on the ship, that’s when he started realizing that she wasn’t that bad. It was that year that she ended up discovering that she had a cousin from her mom’s side, but her cousin….wasn’t good. He almost killed her. They didn’t know, at that time, if she was actually going to make it. I think that’s when Picard started to realize that he really did care about her. They just continued to grow closer throughout their time on the ship. They both….went through similar things. She’s also schizophrenic, so that was another thing. He just learned to love her, I guess. He gave her a second chance at life, but I think now that  _ she’s  _ the one who gave him the chance.”

“She sounds like a really….perfect person. She seems kind and caring, and everything that should….go into a mom. I don’t even know if mine’s real.” Cecilia thought about her next few words carefully.

“Well, I know that my mom wouldn’t hesitate to take you in, if you needed it. She’s always taking in people who need some guidance.”

“Maybe. How did you end up with Picard?”

“I screwed up my life about four years ago. My mom thought that if I went to the person who helped her discover herself, maybe it would work for me.”

“Has it?”

“I don’t know, yet. I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“Why did you trust Picard so easily?”

“Honestly, I didn’t. He cut off contact with my mom when I was four years old, but she still continued to send a message to him every day. I resented him for so long, because I knew that he hurt my mom by never responding. He and I really didn’t….truly acknowledge each other until….I think our first Christmas together. If not, then about a year after I moved in.”

“How’d you get over it?”

“Well, he and I were kind of forced to acknowledge each other, after I gave myself a concussion. It’s just been a rough four years to get by.” Soji was obviously thinking over everything that Cecilia had told her.

“Thanks for all of this.”

“You know where to find me.”

“Yeah, I do.”

After the talk with Soji, Cecilia walked around the house for a little bit. She approached a room that she knew well, but was hesitant to enter. Kestra hadn’t been an only child; her brother, Thaddeus, had been just a few years older than her, but passed away in his early teenage years. Cecilia had been good friends with Thad, with there being a three year span between them.The door was slightly ajar, and Cecilia pushed it open completely. Thad’s room hadn’t changed at all. Everything was still in the same place. She saw a picture of Picard holding a baby Thaddeus, which made her smile. Cecilia had come to bitter acceptance of Thad’s passing, but she still missed him. Kestra so obviously did. The previous week would have been Thad’s eighteenth birthday.

“You miss him,” a familiar voice stated from behind Cecilia. She turned around, a small, yet sad, smile on her face.

“Yeah, I do.” Deanna entered further into the room.

“He truly loved the time you spent here, when you were younger. You made him feel completely normal.”

“He was normal to me. Being sick doesn’t make you not-normal.” Deanna smiled at her, but it was also a sad smile.

“Thad will always be with us in heart.” The Vulcan nodded in agreement. There was a silence between them. Cecilia, truthfully, wanted to start to cry. “I know it’s been hard for you, these past few years. Do you want-”

“No,” Cecilia interrupted. “No, I don’t want to get into it right now. There’s just been a lot going on and I really haven’t processed it, myself.”

“Alright, you talk to us when you’re ready. For now, I thought I’d let you know that the hammock is still up.”

“Thanks.” Cecilia moved past Deanna, heading back up to the attic once again.

The gentle breeze rustled the trees, causing a few leaves to fall.The sun was shining brightly. The woods were quiet, with the exception of a soft ukulele melody and a sweet singing voice. The accented voice wasn’t loud, but it was loud enough to be heard from the backyard of the house.

When you say, you love

the way I make you feel

Everything becomes so

real

Don’t be scared, no,

don’t be scared

Cause you’re all I need

And you still look

perfect as days go by

Even the worst ones,

you make me smile

I’d stop the world if

it gave us time

Cause when you love

someone

You open up your

heart

When you love someone,

you make room

If you love someone

And you’re not afraid to

lose them

You probably never loved 

someone like I do

You probably never loved

someone like I do

The sun illuminated Cecilia’s bright red hair, making it look almost like the red portion of flame. Her skin was about half a shade lighter. Everything about her was perfect, but she would never be able to accept that. The song she was singing was ‘Love Someone’ by Lukas Graham. She remembered both her parents singing it to her as a child. They had been so afraid of somehow losing her and her brother, as they loved them so much, possibly even more than each other.

All my life

I thought it’d be hard

to find the one

‘Til I found you

And I find it

bittersweet

Cause you gave me

something to lose

Cecilia was about to continue, but she felt the presence of someone coming up behind her, walking at a slightly slower pace. She sat up in the hammock, turning around to see Riker walking towards her. Swinging her legs over, she leaned forward, so that they could both better see each other better.

“I’m starting to get dinner ready, kiddo. Come on,” Riker called. Cecilia smiled and flipped out of the hammock, taking the ukulele with her as she ran to catch up to him. “You used to have such a tendency of leaving Rosebud on the hammock.”

“I know, but I’ve broken that habit.” They walked back to the outdoor oven, where Riker began to get the pizza dough and everything together. Cecilia continued to play gentle background melodies on the ukulele. Her fingers moved so intricately against the string, letting the movements happen so naturally. She looked up to see Picard walking towards them.

“You get some rest?” Will asked his former Captain.

“I tried, but I’m worried about my pilot,” Picard answered.

“ _ Our  _ pilot,” Cecilia corrected.

“That he didn’t make it.”

“What have you gotten yourself into, Jean-Luc?” Riker questioned. A part of Cecilia still cringed whenever she heard someone say Jean-Luc. She knew him as Captain, and Captain  _ only _ . “Can you tell me?”

“No. I never wanted you to get involved in this, Will. Coming here was an extremely desperate impulse. I regret it already.”

“Copy that.” Cecilia pursed her lips a little. She was glad that they came here; it was giving her a greater opportunity to rediscover herself. She didn’t like the fact that Picard thought it was such a bad idea. No one would find them here. “I’ll stick to making pizza. I’m just thinking about how great it would be if ignorance of danger was all it took to keep it away from the people we love.”

“That’s not what I was saying.”

“Smell that.” Riker held up a small branch of an herb, letting Picard smell the strong, yet sweet, spice. Cecilia was pretty sure she knew what it was.

“Antarean basil?” she questioned, continuing to strum along on the small instrument.

“Correct. Grows like weeds around here. Everything does. The soil has regenerative powers, which is why we came here, of course.” They had come in hope that Thaddeus would have survived, but the odds didn’t play in their favor. “Wild Girl of the Woods!” Riker called to Kestra, who was inside. Kes and Soji came walking around a corner.

“I’m taking her to see the garden,” Kestra explained. “Allamalan val peresta o manal.”

“Vo peresta melinà andlif,” Soji replied. Cecilia instantly recognized the Viveen language. It took her the entire time she had stayed on Nepenthe to learn it.

“She read Thad’s Viveen dictionary. All of it in, like, two minutes,” Kes told her father, who had an expression of surprise.

“Two minutes? That thing’s three hundred pages long.” Soji eyed the uncooked pizza, tilting her head. Cecilia smiled a little. Her mom had told her that the head tilt was something Data used to do. “We haven’t met, Soji. I’m Kestra’s dad. Will.” They shook hands.

“Hello, Will.”

“Commander Riker and I served together on the USS Enterprise,” Picard said to Soji. “Along with Cecilia’s mother, Vanessa.”

“And you were the greatest captain ever, I heard,” Soji replied, slightly sarcastically. Cecilia’s strumming had lowered in volume. Picard looked at Riker.

“The greatest captain ever?” Riker repeated. “Where’d you get that nonsense?”

“From you,” Kes told him.

“From me?” Will scoffed in a joking way. “I must have been drinking at the time. Can you tell your mom we could use some more tomatoes?” Kes nodded, pulling Soji with her.

“Speaking of drinking,” Picard started to say, once the two were out of earshot. Riker turned and handed him the full bottle of wine. 

“So, I’m just going to speculate and say out loud what I’ve been saying in my brain,” Riker stated. Cecilia put down the uke. “You don’t have to tell me anything, how does that sound? You’re worried about cloaks, so that says Romulans. The level of anxiety and fear for our safety means Tal Shiar. Second, you’re not the one on the run, it’s her. But why? What has Soji done to initiate their wrath? Could it have anything to do with the fact that she’s clearly an android? And not just  _ any  _ android. I’d recognize that little head tilt anywhere. She’s got Data in her DNA. And that’s why you’re here. How am I doing?” Picard and Cecilia exchanged looks. Cecilia grabbed the wine bottle and rolled backwards off of the table that she had been sitting on. “Cecilia, no, come back!”

“You can’t make me do anything!” she yelled in response, running off with the wine bottle.

“Not bad, for a pizza chef,” Picard commented. Cecilia ran over to the garden, opening the wine bottle while she was at it. She raised it to her lips, only for Deanna to take it away.

“Tempting, but no,” her aunt told her.

“Dammit.” Cecilia looked over at Soji, to see her staring at a tomato. The Vulcan hadn’t actually seen one in quite a while, maybe a year, give or take.

“Have you ever seen a real tomato?” Deanna asked Soji.

“I’ve never had any food that didn’t come from a replicator.”

“Try one.” She handed Soji a tomato. Soji knelt down across from her, holding the tomato up to her mouth.

“Like this?”

“Take a bite.” Soji took a sloppy bite from the tomato, laughing as she did.

“Good?” Kes asked.

“It tastes so…. _ real _ . Real is so much better.” Soji’s smile faded a little once she realized what she said. Cecilia sat cross-legged about three feets away from them.

“Kestra, take those tomatoes to your dad and then set the table for dinner, please.”

“Deldeth m’rant,” Kes answered.

“Zeth.” Kes left after a few seconds.

“That wasn’t Viveen,” Soji said.

“Harpanthi. Spoken by the Mind Witches of the Southern Ice. I never managed to learn much Viveen.”

“How many languages did Thad invent?”

“Eleven,” Cecilia and Deanna answered in unison.

“Twelve, if you can Pahlplah,” Deanna added. “The language of butterflies. It doesn’t have words, only wingbeats.”

“I love that,” Soji replied with a smile.

“Thad was born and raised on starships. From the time he was very little, he was so fascinated by the idea that people had homeworlds. Betazed. Earth. He wanted a homeworld of his own, so he invented one.”

“Ardani,” Cecilia clarified. “It means home.”

“When Thad got sick, we came here to Nepenthe. He loved it here. This became his homeworld.”

“What did he have?” Soji asked.

“Mandaxic neurosclerosis. It’s a silicon-based virus. It’s very rare, and, in theory, fully curable. You just have to culture the infected cells in an active positronic matrix. However, by the time Thad came down with MN, there were no active positronic matrices, and no one was allowed to develop any new ones.”

“Because of the synth ban.”

“So, you see, Soji, real isn’t always better.”

“Kestra told you.”

“She told me that this is all very new to you. That you’re very new.”

“That’s just a guess. I really don’t know anything at all. Except that, for some reason, the Romulans are very interested in discovering where I came from. Where I was…. _ made _ . Well, one Romulan…. _ Narek _ .” Cecilia’s ears perked when she heard that name, and her stomach filled with knots and dread. She wanted to instantly throw up. No, it couldn’t be  _ her  _ Narek, right? It had to be someone else, right? “He got me to believe that he cared about me. I thought he even loved me. I trusted him, but….it was all just a mind game. He was trying to trick me into remembering the information he needed, and then he tried to kill me.” Cecilia knew that she was being played. She was being played from the start, from their first few words. Her eyes were starting to sting.

“It must be very hard for you to believe that you can trust anyone now,” Deanna responded.

“You think? This way that you’re being right now, all sensitive and caring, that makes me trust you less. I don’t trust you or Kestra, I definitely don’t trust Picard. This whole thing, if it’s really even happening, how do I know it’s not just another game? That it isn’t real? Like my childhood, my parents. You bring me to this beautiful place, surround me with warm, friendly people and good food and-”

“Torture you? Destroy you?” Picard’s voice cut her off. Everyone looked up. Cecilia was immediately self conscious about her appearance, knowing that she likely looked as if she were about to cry, which she was. “Yeah, you’re right. All this is an elaborate plot.” Picard’s tone was sarcastic, almost  _ mocking _ . Cecilia hated it. “I wouldn’t trust any of us if I were you.” Soji stood up, which added to Cecilia’s bad feeling. She went to walk away, but Picard stepped into her way. There was a stare down for a few seconds, until Soji shoved Picard backwards, causing him to almost knock Riker over. Will, luckily, made sure both of them didn’t fall.

“Hey, hey!” he called out. Cecilia’s eyes burned, both from forming tears and the bad feeling in her stomach. “All you had to say was ‘dinner is served’. You alright?”

“She could have broken me in half. I suppose I should be encouraged that she held back.”

“This isn't something a ship’s counselor is supposed to say,” Deanna started, standing up and facing the two men, “but you had it coming.”

“Easy there, Imzadi,” Riker said.

“Do you have any idea what that young woman’s been through? What she’s going through now? What the Romulans did to her? To you, the idea that all this could be some kind of simulation is preposterous. To  _ her _ , it would be more of the same. You  _ know  _ you’re real, but she has no reason to believe that. She has no reason to believe that she herself is  _ real _ . Her capacity to trust was a  _ flaw in her programming _ . She’s been manipulated, tortured, her very consciousness has been  _ violated _ .”

“Dad!” Kes called, alerting Riker that the pizza was about to burn. He ran over to it. Cecilia, on the other hand, was still sitting on the ground, her eyes still burning. She had been played. She  _ let herself  _ be played. This one was all on her, and she now realized how much danger she put everyone else in.

“What I need to be-” Picard began to say.

“You need to be Jean-Luc Picard,” Deanna insisted. “Compassionate, patient, curious-”

“Someone who actually gives a damn,” Cecilia cut her off, standing up angrily. Picard hadn’t realized that she even was upset in the slightest. Deanna knew, but had purposely waited to say anything. Cecilia’s anger and just upsetness finally caused her burning eyes to flood.

“Cecilia,” Picard said, unsure of what was going on.

“Be the person who actually gives a damn!” she cried out, gaining the attention of Kestra and Riker. Picard went to grab her arm to keep her where she was. She pulled away forcefully. “Leave me alone. Leave me the hell alone.” She walked back into the house, slamming the door as she entered. Before going to the Artifact, Cecilia truly thought that there was maybe a spark between her and Narek. Now, she knew that it was fake. He played her perfectly, and she fell for it hard. She wanted someone else to talk to, but the person she wanted was the person she had left behind. Elnor had been there for her when Narek wasn’t. But Elnor wasn’t there. No one was.

Everyone gathered at the dinner table, after coaxing the two young women to actually come downstairs. Soji sat at one end of the table, while Cecilia sat next to Kestra, who was on Soji’s left hand side.

“My Wild Girl of the Woods,” Riker said, putting a plate in front of Kestra. “EXtra bunnicorn sausage.”

“Thank you.”

“Welcome to our home, Soji.”

“Thank you.”

“Guests get two. Imzadi?”

“One, please,” Deanna requested.

“Cece, what about you?”

“Just one, please.”

“Here you go.”

“Thanks, Uncle Rikee.”

“Do you like pizza?” Kestra asked Soji.

“I do like pizza.”

“Good.”

“Still no contact with Rios,” Picard announced, walking into the room. “If he doesn’t show, we’re going to need another ship.” Cecilia was still firmly believing that Rios would make it. The ship was probably just….preoccupied. Picard took a seat at the other end of the table.

“Well, you might be able to find one over at Infinity Lake spaceport, if you’re willing to wait a while,” Riker offered.

“There’s a weekly passenger service, but independent operators are rare,” Deanna added.

“There’s Captain Crandall,” Kestra cut in. “He’s been everywhere from Qo’noS to Tyken’s Rift.”

“So he says.”

“And he has a ship. The Inside Straight. Only, it’s kind of broken.”

“And so is Rupert Crandall,” Riker told her. “Anyways, even if he weren’t, where are you planning to point this starship of yours?”

“Home,” Soji answered. “Narek, the Tal Shiar agent on the Artifact, showed me a traditional meditation practice called the Zhal Makh. He made me think he was just helping me, but he was using it to pull information from me that I didn’t even know I knew.”

“Did he get the information?” Kes asked.

“I was so stupid. Yes, he got it.”

“You weren’t stupid,” Cecilia commented.

“What was it?” Picard questioned. There was a long pause. It was very tense and uncomfortable. “When I met your sister, she had just been activated by the Romulans’ first attempt on her life. Until then, like you, she believed she was human. After the attack, she discovered that she possessed extraordinary defensive abilities, like you. Soji, listen to the tone of my voice. Feel the fluctuations of my heart rate. Note the dilation of my pupils. Soji, you can trust me.” Although Cecilia agreed with the point Picard was making, she didn’t like the way he stated it. What about her? They were in this together, weren’t they? Wasn’t Cecilia in this too?

“Do you believe him?” Kestra asked Soji.

“I know he thinks he isn’t lying, but that doesn’t mean I believe him.”

“I’ve known this man for 35 years, Soji,” Riker spoke up.

“Will,” Picard cut him off, holding up a hand to silence the former Commander. “I want,  _ we  _ want, to help you get back to that home.”

“Why?”

“Because you were created out of a remnant of a friend, Commander Data.”

“Our very dear friend,” Deanna added.

“My uncle,” Cecilia stated.

“And one hell of an officer,” Riker concluded.

“He gave his life to save mine,” Picard continued to explain. “But that’s not the main reason. Before your sister came to me, I was haunted by my past. Marking time, wasting my life. Now, I’m alive and I have a mission, which means there’s not one hell of a chance that you or anyone else can stop me.” There was another pause. There were many things Cecilia wanted to add and tell Soji, but she remained silent, taking everything in.

“When I did the Zhal Makh,” Soji broke the silence, “Narek took me deep into a memory of my childhood. I mean, that’s what I thought it was. He had me look up through a window in what I thought was my childhood home and he asked me what I saw. I told him that I saw two red moons and a sky full of lightning.”

“He knew you were synthetic,” Deanna said, “and that your childhood memories were implanted.”

“He was looking for an implanted memory of a real place. When I told him about the lightning and the moons, he said ‘you found home’. And that’s when he tried to kill me.” There was another pause.

“Thoughts?” Picard asked Riker.

“Maddox,” the former Commander answered. “He left Earth right after the ban, no one was able to find him for fourteen years. Maybe he went to this planet that has the two red moons.”

“And resumed his work creating synthetic life forms,” Deanna concluded.

“Soji,” Kes cut in. “You have a homeworld.”

“I have a homeworld,” Soji repeated with a smile. “My Ardani. Picard, I want to go there.”

“Yes, we will. First, we have to identify and locate the planet.”

“You may need more than that,” Riker told him. “The Romulans have a head start and they probably know where they’re going.”

“And given what they did to you and your sister, your homeworld’s in terrible danger,” Deanna added.

“You might want to contact Starfleet, Jean-Luc.”

“Probably, but before that, I have to find out where the hell we’re going.”

“It’s in the Vayt sector,” Kes announced. “The Ghulion system. The planet doesn’t have a name, only a number. I asked Captain Crandall.” Smiles were exchanged, but silence filled the room again. Cecilia stood up from the table, planning to go back into the kitchen to get a glass of water. She was glad that Soji was able to open up a little, even if she wasn’t particularly happy with Picard. However, gladness wasn’t what she was mainly feeling. No, this was something Cecilia had experienced once before. She didn’t even realize that she had stopped moving, right as she reached the doorway.

“Hey, kiddo, what’s wrong?” Riker asked, causing everyone to look up and turn towards Cecilia. She wanted to tell them what was going on, but she  _ couldn’t _ .

“Captain,” she said, but she didn’t hear herself speak. Picard stood up, taking a step towards her. “Captain,” she repeated, with a little more urgency. Her body stiffened and hit the floor within seconds, as she began to convulse.

“Cecilia!” someone called. All the adults in the room were on their feet and at the Vulcan’s side within seconds. She felt her fingers tighten around someone’s hand, but she wasn’t sure who, particularly as the world began to darken.

When Cecilia felt herself coming to, the first thing she was struck with was a wave of cold shooting through her. She found herself lying on the floor of a dark, grey and all too familiar place. With a gasp, she forced herself off the floor. She was on the Artifact. How? How in the hell was she on the Artifact?

“Captain?” she called out. Her voice echoed, but it wasn’t  _ natural _ . There was a small natural echo almost everywhere, but this was exaggerated and more defined. She heard people moving quickly from somewhere around her. “Hello?” Shadows passed by her on the wall, and she started following quickly. She came across a somewhat narrow hallway, and could see two familiar figures walking away from her. “Elnor!” she called. He turned back to look, but had a confused expression. She ran to catch up to them. “Elnor,” she repeated. He kept looking around. Cecilia quickly realized that he couldn’t see her.

“What is it?” Hugh asked, also seeing nothing.

“I heard Cecilia call my name.”

“It was your imagination.” Cecilia reached how and touched Elnor’s face, just in an attempt to let him know that she was there. The Romulan looked almost panicked, feeling an unseen force touching his face.

“Elnor, it’s me,” the Vulcan told him. “It’s really me. Can you hear me?”

“We don’t have time for this,” Hugh insisted, wanting to keep moving. Cecilia reached out and touched Hugh, to make him see that she was there. The same expression of shock and panic spread across his face. “How….?”

“It’s the sublevels of consciousness. I’m connected to you.” Hugh couldn’t hear her, but Elnor somewhat could. He could hear her in his mind.

“You’re alive,” he whispered to her.

“We need to go,” Hugh reminded them. They continued to walk forward.

“We’re going back to the Queencell?” Elnor asked.

“I’d forgotten the amount of power hidden there. Maybe I was afraid I’d be tempted to use it. But now, I promised to defend and protect the xBs.” Cecilia instantly knew what happened to the recovered assimilated people. They had been murdered. It was all because of Hugh’s attempt to help her and Picard. “I failed them all. I’ve been a fool. We’re going to take this cube away from them.” Hugh stopped for a minute to look into Elnor’s eyes, showing his determination.”

“That sounds like a treaty violation to me,” a female voice said from in front of them. They all turned to look. Cecilia was met with an extremely bad feeling. She felt as if she was supposed to be afraid of this woman, but she refused to let herself feel that way. The woman was another Romulan. She had long, straight dark hair, like Elnor, but there was a more menacing atmosphere surrounding her. “Did you really think you weren’t being watched?” A couple of guards followed her. “And not just  _ any  _ treaty violation. Open insurrection. I’m grateful. I’m authorized to kill you now.” Cecilia forced herself deeper into the void, even though it was beginning to become painful. She needed to know this woman’s name. It was there, just like Narek’s, but it needed deciphering. There were two names. Lieutenant Rizzo and….and  _ Narissa _ . She and Narek were related, they had to be. Siblings, if not, cousins. Narissa was the Romulan Borg Queen that Hugh had told Picard about earlier. Elnor took his sword from its case, stepping forward.

“Please, friends,” he spoke in the Romulan native language. “Choose to live.”

“I admit,” Narissa answered, also in their native language, “I wasn’t expecting this.” There was a pause, until she shot at them. Cecilia, out of quick reaction, pulled both Elnor and Hugh backwards forcefully, making sure they had cover. Elnor leapt up on a ledge above them. Narissa quickly caught sight of Hugh, but then shot up at Elnor, hearing him jump from side to side. Cecilia, although it was dangerous, took a chance and stood in plain sight. Narissa couldn’t see her. Hugh had moved by the time the Romulan queen looked back. Elnor quickly took out one of her guards, making her turn around again. He held the second one by the neck with his sword at a threatening angle. “This is not how Zhat Vash fights, Qowat Milat. If that’s what you are.” Narissa clipped her phaser onto her belt, as Elnor placed his sword back in its case. Cecilia could only watch the scene playing out in front of her. They started to engage in physical combat, throwing hits wherever they could. Elnor was slightly thrown back, but was still standing. Narissa went to throw another hit, when Cecilia saw a chance. She threw herself on Narissa’s back, slamming the queen backwards. Narissa didn’t quite realize what was happening, but broke free from the unseen force’s grip. Elnor was about to attack, but the queen had a small knife pointed at his neck. With her free hand, the second knife flew past Cecilia’s head and went into the side of Hugh’s throat at full speed.

“No!” Cecilia screamed. The walls closest to them vibrated with her scream, almost shaking. Narissa heard it. Everyone heard that scream. The void had been pierced, but then closed again. Elnor and Cecilia ran over to Hugh. Narissa turned to point the phaser at them, and Cecilia moved to stop her.

“See you soon, little Vulcan,” the queen hissed, then transporting somewhere. Cecilia didn’t have the slightest clue as to how Narissa knew she was Vulcan, unless….Narek. That had to be how she knew. She moved as quickly as possible to get back to her friends.

“To activate the Queencell,” Hugh breathed out in a raspy voice, “you will need an xB. How’s this for a lost cause? I was that much of a hopeful fool again for a minute. Thanks for that.” Hugh’s body drained of energy and went limp. His eyes remained open, staring at the ceiling, but they were now as lifeless as his body.

“Elnor, you have to take this,” Cecilia told him, almost starting to shake. She was praying that she’d be able to physically hand items to Elnor. She fumbled for the chip that Seven had given her, pulling it out of her jacket pocket. She put it in Elnor’s hand. He looked at it, letting her know that it was actually in his possession. “This will allow you to contact Seven of Nine. She will help you.”

“Cecilia,” he responded. “I can hear you only in pieces.” The void was beginning to seal itself. Her consciousness was beginning to fade out of this location.

“Seven will help you,” she repeated. “Seven will help you!” Elnor stood up, looking around. He couldn’t hear Cecilia anymore. She started to shake her head, as everything became darker. “No, no, no. Elnor! Elnor!” Cecilia’s vision darkened, until she couldn’t see anymore. Everything had faded away around her.

When the Vulcan opened her eyes for a second time, she found herself in an unfamiliar, and very small, one-to-two person pod. This time, however, there was no echoing around her. She sat up with a gasp. There wasn’t a wave of cold, like before, there was just….nothing. There was nothing to distinguish this ship. She stood up, seeing someone in the pilot’s seat.

“Who are you?” she questioned. The pilot instantly stood up, turning around quickly. He had obviously been extremely startled. They stared at each other for a minute, each realizing who they both were.

“Cecilia,” Narek whispered in a shaky breath. “It’s really you.” Cecilia just stared, as a thousand emotions flowed through her all at once.

“You,” she hissed back. “You  _ played  _ me. You’ve been playing me from the beginning.”

“What? How have I played you?”

“I  _ felt  _ you on the Artifact. I know it was you. It was you!”

“What the hell were  _ you  _ doing on the Artifact? How did you even get there in the first place?”

“You didn’t bother to mention that you’re also part of the Tal Shiar and you’re on a mission to kill Soji!”

“ _ How do you know Soji _ ?!” Cecilia realized within seconds the amount of danger she put herself in.

“You sick bastard, you tried to kill her! She trusted you and so did I! I trusted you!”

“I don’t even know who the hell you are!”

“You know  _ exactly  _ who I am and that’s why you’ve done nothing but  _ play  _ me from the start!” Narek lunged forward, in an attempt to make Cecilia stay quiet for a few minutes, but she was the one who took the motion as a sign of the beginning of combat. Cecilia swung her fist, but missed. Narek took the chance to flip her around, slamming her face into the window and landing on top of her on the floor. “No!” she screamed out, squirming to get up from under his grip.

“Listen to me!” Narek yelled out, trying to catch her attention. “Listen! I’ll let you up, but we have to talk about all of this like civilized people! We need to explain this to each other!”

“And why should I ever trust you?!”

“Because I can kill you right now.”

“Oh really? Then try it, I’ll kill you first.”

“Listen to me, we need to act like civilized people. I’ll let you up, but you can’t attack me. Alright?” There was a long pause. Cecilia knew that this was probably going to be her only chance to figure things out and get the whole story of Narek, or at least some of it. In a swift movement, the Romulan released her, sending them to opposite sides of the small ship. There was another tense pause, neither of them knowing what the other would do. “How do you know Soji? You said that you were leaving somewhere with some friends. Where is your destination?”

“Like I’d tell you,” she shot back. “Every hint I’ve given you about me, you’ve used against me and her all this time. You falsely gained the only trust she’s had, and you betrayed her. And then you tried to kill her. I know that you’re a Tal Shiar agent, and probably part of the Zhat Vash, too.”

“I’ll tell you as much as you tell me.”

“Ha, like I’d believe that anymore.”

“Cecilia.”

“Don’t  _ Cecilia  _ me. You  _ had  _ my trust. I don’t think you can ever get it back now. I really thought….no. I was just lonely and stupid. I also met your sister, since she tried to kill me too.” Narek did look like he was trying to absorb the information that Cecilia was telling him, but he was really trying to figure out how he could get her back on his side.

“Narissa is a different story.”

“She killed one of my friends right in front of me.”

“She works to the beat of her own drum. Cecilia, I believe that we  _ do  _ have a connection. There’s something between us.”

“I thought so, too. However, you’re forgetting one very important thing, Narek.” Cecilia took a step closer to him. “I know your thoughts.” The Romulan instantly realized what the Vulcan in front of him meant. She knew he was planning to manipulate her. He turned away a little, and then swung back around with his hand curled into a fist, but Cecilia had already disappeared.

Cecilia woke up to a familiar, and finally safe, environment, lying on Riker and Deanna’s couch. She opened her eyes all the way, to see Soji sitting next to her.

“Hey,” the Vulcan greeted quietly.

“Hey,” Soji repeated. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah.” Cecilia sat up, flipping her legs so that her feet touched the ground. She had a little bit of a headache, but it wasn’t horrible.

“Picard said this wasn’t the first time that’s happened.”

“I had one before we went to the Artifact. I think it’s because of my mental sensitivity.” She wasn’t ready to explain to Soji everything that happened. She wasn’t ready to tell  _ anyone _ .

“At least you’re okay.” Riker walked into the room.

“Hey, kiddo, you gave us a big scare. How are you feeling?”

“Kind of tired. I think I might go upstairs for a while.” Cecilia moved to stand up.

“Wait, kiddo, let me help you.” Riker moved to help steady his niece, making sure she took one step at a time. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” he asked as they started up the stairs.

“I’m sure. I just need some sleep.” The two of them walked up to the attic. Cecilia immediately went to the bed.

“Get some rest, kiddo. Call if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Uncle Rikee,” she murmured into the pillow. He ruffled her hair a little, partially closed her door, and headed back downstairs. Even though Cecilia was extremely troubled with what she had experienced, she forced herself to close her eyes, hoping to at least be at peace for a few hours, where her mind could no longer cause her so much trouble.

Picard stood in the middle of his living room, not really sure what he was doing there. Everything seemed peaceful. Sunlight gently filled the room. Why was he here?

“Hello?” he called. “Zhaban? Laris?” There was no response. “Cecilia?” Picard was met with near-complete silence. He started walking throughout the house, searching for anyone. He turned the corner to his study, but saw a golden blur out of the corner of his eye. “Juno?” he said, turning around towards the steps. Juno was standing about halfway up the stairs, wagging his tail. “What is it, Juno?” Juno moved up the stairs a little, then turned back to wait for Picard. The Admiral cautiously walked up the stairs, following Juno. All the doors to the second floor rooms were closed. Picard petted Juno’s soft, floppy ears, as Juno stood next to him. “What’s up here?” Juno didn’t make a sound or a move. He just sat completely still. His ears were perked, letting Picard know that he was listening to something. Amongst the chirping birds, the Admiral could hear what Juno was hearing. It was a soft voice, singing. It was coming from one of the rooms. Picard listened closely to the words being sung:

Don’t tell me that 

it’s over

The book of you

and I

Now you’ve scribbled

out my name

And you’ve erased my

favorite lines

There were so many

chapters

That we never got

to write

Like “Cereal for Dinner”,

and “Staying Up All Night”

I remember where

we started

I remember how

you looked

But now I’m missing

bits and pieces

From the pages that

you took

You didn’t give a

reason

Now I’ll forever

wonder why

We never got to finish,

the book of you and I

Picard approached the door that was next to his room. It was Cecilia’s room. His hand hesitated right at the doorknob. He listened to the singing voice for a few seconds longer:

Well, I bought a pen,

and I turned the page

Then I wrote about how

I wish you’d stayed

I said all the things that

I never got to say

Maybe when it’s done,

I will feel okay

Picard gathered his courage and turned the doorknob, letting the wooden door drift open. The room was almost entirely filled with sunlight. He completely froze, seeing a figure he knew all too well standing by the bay window. She had her back to him, staring out the window. She was wearing a floor-length, halter-neck sky blue dress, which was further illuminated by the sunlight pouring into the room. Her bright red hair appeared even brighter, which was tied with a ribbon that was the same color as her dress. Picard slowly began to approach her, hesitantly and gently placing his hand on her bare shoulder when he reached her. Her skin was incredibly pale, and felt very warm, most likely from standing in the sun shining through the window. She had gone quiet from his touch. He felt her hand slowly move to his, letting their fingers entwine. To him, even her reflection in the window looked beautiful and so grown-up; an appearance that took so long for her to take on.

“Hello, Captain,” she said quietly. Her voice was light and seemed almost song-like. Picard missed hearing it every day.

“Hello, Vanessa,” he answered.

“It’s been a very long time.”

“Yes, it has been. How are you here?”

“I just am. I don’t really know how to explain it.” Vanessa stood almost perfectly still. Air, most likely from the vents, made the bottom of her dress flow a little. “Have you been taking care of them?”

“Yes.”

“And how has it been?”

“Good.”

“Just good?”

“Yes. We’ve been good.”

“Hm.” Picard could see her expression in the window turn into a sad, yet neutral, look. It was a look he had seen before, but absolutely hated.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her.

“I miss you,” she answered quietly.

“I know.” Vanessa turned around to face him, and he was a little surprised. Her eyes were bright red and her face was tear-stained. He hated seeing her like that. It reminded him that she was upset, and he hated seeing her upset. Her life was supposed to be happy and as perfect as possible. She never should have had to feel sad. He only ever wanted Vanessa to be happy. “Vanessa….?” Picard heard himself say. Within seconds, she threw her arms around him, slightly startling the Admiral. She was crying, and he didn’t like this. Something was very wrong, but he didn’t know what it was. He hadn’t seen her in person since Cecilia was about four years old. This wasn’t how he wanted to see her. Vanessa was the closest thing Picard felt he had to a daughter, and it hurt him so much to see her cry. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s okay, don’t cry.”

“Promise me you’ll take care of them.”

“I promise.” Everything around him instantly faded away. He no longer felt Vanessa’s soft touch. He no longer saw her bright blue pleading eyes staring into his. “Vanessa?!” he called. There was no answer. No. No. She couldn’t be gone. “Vanessa?!” he repeated, this time a little more urgently. Picard looked around frantically, desperate to find her. The remaining silence was pierced by a feminine shriek that the Admiral knew all too well, until that shriek expunged him from his realm of dreams, and back into reality.

Picard flew awake, startled and somewhat terrified of what he had seen. He looked at his hand, just trying to remember what Vanessa’s touch felt like. It had been almost twenty years since he had felt that touch and heard that voice. He missed it so much. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, Picard got up, walking over to the dresser where he had earlier placed a photo album that Riker had found. He hadn’t gone through all of it, but a part of him was beginning to wonder if Vanessa was in any of those pictures. Picard took the album from the table and started walking up towards the attic. Alone, Cecilia was internally a mess. She had woken up about two and a half hours after falling asleep. The Vulcan looked around the attic some more and came across a box of her mother’s old clothes. She tried some of the outfits on, while also starting to think again about everything that had happened since she had left the Artifact with Picard and Soji, except for her first real encounter with Narek. That was something she wanted to block from her mind as much as possible. She regretted leaving Elnor. She wanted to stay with and help him. If Picard hadn’t grabbed her hand in that moment, she would have. Cecilia regretted many things, but that was toward the top of the list. In fact, she had kept a physical list for years, determined to somehow fix them. How she was to fix this, she didn’t know. Everything was beginning to grow more and more confusing. Especially with Soji. Resenting Dahj was a huge regret on Cecilia’s part. Picard took the blame for her death, but Cecilia took the personal mission of making sure she didn’t treat Soji the same way as Dahj. She would never dare to admit that to Picard. He would try to talk her out of her mission, and that’s something Cecilia wouldn’t be able to handle. She  _ needed  _ to do this, for her own mental health. She knew she wasn’t a perfect person, but there was still good in her. Her dad always made her realize that. Sitting in front of the mirror, Cecilia felt almost uncomfortable, wearing her mom’s clothes. Vanessa always had such a distinct style, but Cecilia never found one. She typically just threw on whatever she could find that matched. A part of Cecilia felt too much like her mother. An emerald green t-shirt, dark blue jeans, black high tops, and a green ribbon keeping her hair tied back. That seemed more like Vanessa. Green was never Vanessa’s color, though. Her color was always purple or lavender. Green matched the shade of Cecilia’s eyes. The outfit had a lot of Vanessa, but also had some hints of Cecilia. There was a knock on the door, breaking Cecilia from her thoughts.

“Come in,” she responded. The door opened, as Cecilia pulled on a soft black jacket with a silver zipper.

“Vanessa?” Picard’s voice questioned. Cecilia instantly turned around. Picard had an expression of recognition, but it quickly disappeared. “You look just like your mother.”

“I know,” Cecilia answered. “Did you, um, need me for something?”

“Your Uncle Will found a photo album and I thought you’d like to see it.” Cecilia walked over to him, curious to see the pictures. She didn’t fully understand why or what caused him to be awake at such a late hour, but her empathic ability vaguely told her that it had something to do with his dreams. She sat down next to him on the bed, as she opened the photo book. The first picture was of Cecilia and James, when they were younger, standing next to Riker. Both looked similar to their mother, but Cecilia had a few more features of her father.

“That’s cute,” Cecilia commented. Picard smiled, but didn’t say anything. It became awkward when neither of them moved to turn the page. There was a lot they wanted to tell each other. “Are we going to talk about it?” the Vulcan broke the silence.

“It depends on what part of it.”

“That’s up to you.” It was quiet for a moment.

“Cecilia, I  _ do  _ worry about you, and these seizures are becoming more frequent, with no medical explanation.”

“I think I know what might be causing them. I think my mental sensitivity is acting up when others feel pain or experience a trauma. I mean, the first seizure happened right when Maddox died. And he had been in extreme pain before that.”

“That’s a possibility. What about the second one, then? No one here has gone through something physical like that, recently.” Cecilia hesitated to answer, knowing what she knew.

“I don’t know,” she lied. “Um, hey, could I, um, show you a song?” Picard had wished for a long time to hear that sentence come from Vanessa, but it never did.

“Yes, of course.” Cecilia pulled out her earbuds, then looked for the song on her music player. She handed the player and earbuds to the Admiral, then turned on the song. It began with a piano introduction.

I would’ve bet on us,

we were untouchable

You and I

I couldn’t get enough,

it was a fairytale come to life

I had your heart,

At least that’s what I thought

Now I’m second-

guessing every moment

Wondering where we

went so wrong

I just keep asking, would

this have been worth it

If I knew the ending

all along?

What started so perfect,

was over too fast

I should have seen the

warning signs

‘Cause perfect doesn’t

last

Picard looked to Cecilia, his eyes questioning everything.

“Perfect Doesn’t Last by Beth Crowley,” she told him, a neutral expression on her face. “One of my mom’s favorite artists.”

“Why did you show me this song?”

“Because it’s….it’s about  _ us _ . If not us, then….then  _ me _ . I used to think the two of us were untouchable. It felt just... _ right _ to be right by your side for the past four years. Even when we left, I thought that this would be a perfect experience. It’d be like one of the adventures you and my mom would go on, but this time it would be you and me. But now, I’m….I’m second guessing myself and every moment we continue on this path. It doesn’t feel right anymore. Where did we go so damn wrong? Would all of this really have been worth it if I knew we’d end up at this point? Everything started just so perfectly, at least for me, but that perfect went away so quickly. It went away in just about three weeks. It just didn’t last. I don’t know if I want to go home or keep going or what I’m supposed to do. Are we even doing the right thing? Am I….should I really be here?”

“Cecilia, I know I don’t show it very often, but I am grateful beyond words that you have come with me. Yes, we’ve made some mistakes in our courses of action, but I believe that we can find the correct path to follow. You’re right; perfect  _ doesn’t  _ last. However, friendship does. Friendship lasts longer than a lifetime. It keeps us going, so that one day, perfect may return and remain. I never meant to cause you pain by taking you with me on this mission.”

“I never said you did. I just want us to be able to understand all of this. I….I messed up.”

“No, Cecilia, you didn’t. Trust me, you will  _ know _ when you’ve messed up. You’re telling yourself that you have, but the reality is that you’re doubting yourself.” Cecilia shrugged in response. “You’ll discover yourself soon enough, I can promise that.” She watched as Picard gave her a final smile and exited the room. Once she couldn’t hear him anymore, she moved across the room and picked up the hand-crafted banjo, given the title of ‘Daisy’, from the stand it leaned against. It had been a long time since she had really played any instruments. She started playing a tune to a song that she knew, but not many others knew it, besides maybe her mom or dad. It was ‘The Cave’ by Mumford and Sons. In a very soft, almost whispered, voice, she started to sing along to the instrument, despite her voice being practically unnoticeable and cracking at particular parts:

It’s empty in the

valley of your heart

The sun, it rises

slowly as you walk

Away from all the fears

and all the faults

You left behind

She wanted to continue to the next verse, but found that she simply  _ couldn’t _ . It wouldn’t come out of her mouth. She skipped to the chorus instead.

I will hold on hope

and I won’t let you choke

On that noose around

your neck

And I’ll find strength

in pain

And I will change

my ways

I’ll know my name

as it’s called again

She kept her rhythm by tapping on the edge of the banjo with her hand. She kept glancing at her scarred wrists. What was she really feeling? Were they actually her own thoughts? Or was she just being influenced, as Soji had been?

So make your siren’s

call and sing all you want

I will not hear what

you have to say

‘Cause I need freedom

now and I need to know how

To live my life as it’s

meant to be

I will hold on hope

and I won’t let you choke

On that noose around

your neck

And I’ll find strength

in pain

And I will change

my ways

I’ll know my name

as it’s called again

That was it. She threw the banjo to the other side of the bed. Cecilia was disgusted with herself. She was so full of inner confliction that it was pathetic.  _ She  _ was pathetic, at least in her mind. What was the point? Why bother continuing on? How did they even make it here? Everything had turned upside down. Cecilia couldn’t even gain control of her thoughts. They swarmed her head, like bees to their hive. The constant buzzing, and so many thoughts at once that there was no track to them. Who cared about her? She thought Narek did, but he had only betrayed her. Elnor? She didn’t truly know, at this point, whether it was friendship or something more. Was the little bit of trust she built with Soji real? Was her entire relationship with Picard even…. _ plausible _ ? Was she just another person to him? Cecilia was about to do something that she was going to regret so much. It would be there waiting for her in the morning, after she would spend the rest of the night making sure that there was no evidence left in the room.

“They only came within comms range last night,” Picard told Riker, as they walked together down one of the forest trails.

“Have your pilot send his transponder codes, and I’ll make sure that Orbital Control doesn’t cause them any trouble.”

“Thank you, Will.”

“You were worried about them.”

“Yes, I was.”

“What are they like? This new crew of yours.”

“I would have to say they are quite motley. Nothing but drama since we left orbit. And it’s been apparently continuing, since our last meeting. They seem to be carrying more luggage than all of you ever did.”

“How’s Cecilia taking everything? If she’s anything like Vanessa, then she’s probably been excited beyond words.”

“She’s not exactly like Vanessa. She was excited at the beginning. Now, she’s as conflicted as I am.”

“I worry about her, Jean-Luc. She’s very….what’s the word….”

“Fragile,” Picard concluded. “Oh, trust me, I know. She’s alright, though. She’s figuring things out on her own.” Will wanted to respond, but ultimately didn’t. He knew Cecilia was very good at hiding things. Picard didn’t. Despite living with her for four years, he was still so oblivious, maybe due to the fact that she  _ had  _ hidden things so well. The two came to a small fishing deck that had a wooden bench and shade piece above the bench. “Do you ever think about shipping out again?”

“Well, I’m still on active reserve. It would have to be a very very good reason.” The two took seats on the bench. “Jean-Luc, you’ve excelled in your share of planet-saving. Nobody would blame you if you just stayed home and let other people take care of the galaxy. I never thought you had any business retiring, to be honest.”

“And you were right. Thank you, Will.”

“What for?”

“So many things, but today, for not trying to talk me out of this.”

“Believe me, I learned to know better. It’s always a losing proposition.”

Cecilia stayed in the room with Soji and Kestra for a little while. Soji was still getting some sleep, while Kestra sketched her. Cecilia sat on the floor, leaning against the ladder of the bunk bed. She kept her jacket on, keeping her long sleeves down by her fingertips. Her lower arm was a bit sore, which wasn’t something she wanted anyone else to know. She had thought things through the remaining hours of the night, and by daybreak, she had an idea of the personal mission that was going to force her to move forward. It just bothered Cecilia, internally, that it took a very regretted move to make her readjust and see that.

“Hi,” Soji’s voice broke the silence of the room, causing both Cecilia and Kestra to look up. There was a slight pause.

“I’m gonna miss you,” Kestra admitted.

“I’m gonna miss you too.”

“I….I don’t totally get it, but I do know that something really really bad happened to you. Something really bad happened to me, too. What helped me through it was my mom and dad. You don’t have a mom and a dad, but you have Captain Picard and Cece.”

“I don’t have Picard.”

“But you could. If you wanted to, is all I’m saying and he could have you and Cece. The three of you could have each other.” There was a pause. Cecilia thought deeply into her cousin’s words. Soji also didn’t say that she didn’t have Cecilia. She only said that she didn’t have Picard. Kes stood up and walked out. She turned the corner, probably heading towards the bathroom. The room was quiet.

“Cecilia?” Soji asked.

“Yeah?” the Vulcan answered.

“How are you doing?” There was a pause.

“How are  _ you  _ doing?” she replied carefully.

“I don’t really know.”

“Me too.” Cecilia turned her head a little. Soji motioned for her to sit next to her on the bed. The Vulcan got up and did as she was told. “If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell Picard?”

“I promise.”

“As you probably know by now, I have an increased mental sensitivity. I’m partially empathic and telepathic. Through this ability, I’m able to contact people from almost, in theory, anywhere across the galaxy. It’s through the sublevels of consciousness, pretty much the void. Before Picard and I left Earth, I contacted someone. He was really charming and sweet, even though he was secretive. We’ve been contacting each other back and forth almost every one to two days. I thought that he and I were really hitting it off and I thought that maybe there was…. _ something  _ between us. It turns out that every piece of information about me and where I was going that I gave him, he was using against me. He played me from the very beginning. It was only recently that I discovered who he actually is.”

“Who is he?” Cecilia hesitated to say the sentence. She didn’t know how Soji would react.

“His name….is…. _ Narek _ .” There was a long moment of silence. “I’m so sorry. You weren’t the stupid one to believe him, I was. I should have known better. Are you….mad at me?” Soji looked at Cecilia, but then pulled her into a hug. It answered the Vulcan’s question. Neither of them spoke. They didn’t need to. They knew everything between each other, just from that embrace.

“It’s okay,” Soji finally spoke. “We get each other a little more now.” As the hug broke, Soji felt the small covered area of Cecilia’s lower arm brush against hers. Cecilia felt it too, and moved to quickly pull her hand away, but Soji caught it first. She looked at what was being covered on the Vulcan’s arm, and quickly realized what it was. She looked up at Cecilia.

“I’m not suicidal,” Cecilia immediately told her. “I swear, I’m not. I just….have moments, sometimes, where….I don’t know. I haven’t done that in a long time. It just….I don’t know.” Soji hugged Cecilia again. She didn’t need an explanation or an excuse. She just knew that the girl in front of her needed a friend. And not Picard, who was still technically a mentor, or Kestra, who didn’t need to know about this. Cecilia needed a friend who was her age, someone who understood her thought process on a personal level.

“You know how you tried to go all counselor on me earlier?” Soji asked her, neither breaking the hug yet.

“Yeah?”

“Now it’s my turn.” Cecilia felt Soji place something in her hand. She looked at it. It was Dahj’s necklace.

“Soji, I-” she began to protest. This was something  _ precious _ ; the Vulcan could never accept something with such meaning to a person.

“I might not have Picard, like you do, but I think that maybe we could have each other. It might not be three of us, but it could be you and me. I don’t even fully know if I trust you yet, but I think, right now, I do. So keep it, okay?” Cecilia nodded, clipping the necklace on.  _ This  _ was what both of them needed; a friend in each other. If there was no one else, there would still be the two of them, held together with such fragile glass bonds, but enough that the glass would continue to act as glue.

Picard, Soji and Cecilia were ready to leave just a little over an hour later. Cecilia packed the majority of her mother’s clothes into her bag, just because she knew she probably wouldn’t be getting new ones soon. She left the banjo and violin, but took the tiny ukulele with her. She also left the photo album that she and Picard had briefly looked through the previous night. They all stood outside. Picard immediately noticed the Vulcan wearing Dahj’s necklace, but he made himself say nothing to her about it, yet. Cecilia hugged Deanna, without words being spoken. Both of them had mental sensitivities, so they knew what they were both feeling and thinking. She turned to Riker, who enveloped her in a tight bear hug.

“Take care of yourself, kiddo,” Riker told his niece. “And this one, too. I think Soji can handle herself. Cecilia smiled, breaking the hug.

“I promise,” she replied.

“Wait,” Kestra called out, running over to Soji. Kes placed her broken compass in her friend’s hand, and then hugged her. Soji hesitated for only a second, but returned the motion. They broke apart a few seconds later. Kestra turned to Cecilia. With big smiles, the cousins embraced. It would probably be another long while until they saw each other again.

“Stay out of trouble.”

“Only if I can use your banjo.”

“Deal, but be nice with it.” Their embrace broke and Cecilia stepped backwards, so that she was between Soji and Picard. She was actually quite nervous about going back to the ship. Who knew what could have happened while they were gone.

“Three to beam up,” Picard announced to Rios, via the comm. Soji and Cecilia looked at each other. They grabbed each other’s hands, Cecilia’s sleeve moving up a slight bit, right as their ascent to  _ La Sirena  _ began.


	8. In Theory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used/referenced go to their rightful owners ( Broken by Anson Seabra and Candle by Cavetown).
> 
> Potential trigger warning

Cecilia felt Soji’s hand drop from hers, once they fully materialized on the ship. Rios and Soji were locked in direct eye contact.

“Rios, this is Doctor Asha,” Picard introduced. While those two were having a moment beyond current understanding, Cecilia was having her own, as well. Something was happening with Elnor. It was a small emotional tug from his side of consciousness, but Cecilia  _ felt  _ it, no matter how small it was. “I need a secure subspace link….” Picard realized the eye contact hadn’t been broken. “Hey, Rios!” he called out.

“What?” Rios questioned, a look on his face as if he had seen a ghost.

“I need a secure subspace link to Starfleet Command. And what’s the nearest starbase?”

“Uh, Deep Space….Twelve?”

“Lay in a course. Hey,  _ lay in a course _ .”

“I will lay in a course for DS12. But after that, you’re on your own, Picard. I’m done.”

“You said you’d take me home,” Soji instantly reminded the Admiral.

“Yes, and I will, but we face a powerful enemy. We can’t do it without support. Look, you have no choice, but to trust me. I know that would make me mad, too, but I understand. Cecilia and I will find you a cabin.” Picard turned, but realized that Cecilia hadn’t moved off the transporter platform. She was just staring straight ahead of her. She slightly raised her hand, signaling for him to not talk to her. Picard chose to walk away from her, dragging Soji with him. Raffi stopped them.

“Hi, Raffi,” she introduced herself.

“Soji.”

“Soji, I’m sorry, but your new best friend Jean-Luc already brought us one absolutely adorable little homicidal secret double agent.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Picard questioned.

“I’m talking about how big a damn fool you really are.”

“I’m sorry about her rudeness,” the Admiral said to Soji, beginning to lead her away. Raffi grabbed a small blaster from the wall, aiming it at Soji. “Raffi!”

“A  _ neuron _ . That’s all you know about her. You built this whole damn fantasy of rescue and redemption and sacrifice out of one  _ piss-ant little neuron _ .”

“Put that away or use it on me.” Raffi deactivated the weapon, putting it down with an expression of anger on her face.

“Agnes Jurati had a tracking isotope in her blood. She’s a Romulan spy.” The puzzle pieces were coming together in Cecilia’s head, even though she was completely frozen in her place. It wasn’t Hugh’s death that had triggered her seizure on Nepenthe. It was Jurati. Something happened to Jurati that triggered it.

“Fact or theory?”

“Theory. We think she killed Burce Maddox.” Cecilia was starting to see different scenes out of each eye. On one side, she was seeing  _ La Sirena _ , but on the other side, she was seeing bits and pieces of the Artifact. Was Elnor there? A silhouetted figure came into her sight and was moving towards her.

“Where’s Hugh? And Cecilia? It was her SOS signal that I tracked,” a familiar voice questioned.

“Seven,” Cecilia whispered. “Seven.” She reached out her hand, thinking that everything she was seeing out of one eye was truly there.

“Cecilia?” Raffi questioned, seeing her still standing in the same spot, now with her hand outstretched.

“Seven.” The Vulcan’s body gave out on her, as she landed on the steps on the transporter platform. Her knees immediately began to hurt, from the force of how she landed on them. Her senses were no longer under her control. Everything was just a blur and sound was just a ring. She only knew she was throwing up from the burning sensation in her throat. She was gagging and starting to almost choke. Someone grabbed her arm; the arm she didn’t want anyone to know about. Everything had faded away within seconds of feeling a strong pressure on the back of her head.

“You told me you stopped last year!” Picard yelled at Cecilia, who was sitting in a spinning chair, facing away from him.

“I did,” she answered in a normal volume, which sounded quiet compared to the yelling. Her tone seemed worn.

“Well, obviously not! You mutilate yourself and then end up getting an infection that has  _ very  _ bad timing in revealing itself!”

“I cleaned it up as best as I could, how was I supposed to know that it’d still get infected?”

“You shouldn’t have done it in the first place!”

“You didn’t flip out last year like this after you found out.”

“Because I thought now you were finally alright! That you had climbed out of your rabbit hole! Now I find out that you’re suicidal again and-”

“I  _ am not  _ suicidal!” Cecilia finally snapped in a very loud tone, standing up from the chair to face Picard. “I  _ am not  _ suicidal. But you wouldn’t know that. No, the great Admiral Picard is on such an important and weighted mission that he doesn’t have to think about other people and their damn fragile feelings! You have no idea why I did this.” She held her newly scarred wrist right by Picard’s face. “And you’ll never know because you’ll never ask. You think that if things are left unspoken, then they’ll fade away. Well, let me tell you something, these scars will  _ never  _ fade away.” There was a long pause, as the two angry people held furious gazes with each other. Their relationship, at this point, was on the verge of unhealthy, and was already extremely bipolar. They had gone one night talking about how they  _ do  _ care about each other, but now they were right back to square one of arguing and keeping secrets from each other. Raffi was the one who stepped in and forced them away from each other.

“I’ll discuss this with both of you later, but, as of now, just listen to the damn hologram!” she snapped, pointing at the EMH. Neither the Captain nor his technical apprentice replied, giving the hologram his chance to start talking.

“She injected herself with a hydrogen compound,” he explained. “She was trying to destabilize the viridium tracker that was in her system.”

“As soon as we did, we dropped the Tal Shiar. Fact, not theory.”

“But to say that she’s a Tal Shiar agent?” Picard questioned in response. “Maybe she didn’t know about the tracker until you picked up the Tal Shiar signal.”

“Maybe, or maybe they put her on the ship to kill Bruce Maddox.” Cecilia wanted to speak, but wasn’t sure if this was the best moment. She concluded her first seizure had  _ something  _ to do with Maddox’s death, but it wasn’t enough to justify an accusation of murder.

“Tell me about Maddox.”

“He shouldn’t have died,” Cecilia finally spoke up. “I ran that sequence half a dozen times. He should have survived his injuries. He wouldn’t have died that quickly, even if there was lasting damage.”

“And I can support that conclusion,” the EMH agreed. “Besides, she deactivated me.” He motioned to Jurati. “Then, she turned off the hematic microrepair unit that was stabilizing his cardiovascular function.”

“She basically overloaded his heart and removed anything that could prevent the overload,” the Vulcan added.

“She was in distress,” Picard argued.

“I told you it was careless to bring her along,” Raffi stated. “Now you’re telling us that we need to trust the synth girl, too? Tell me, JL, what is Soji really like? Hm? Do you know? Does she? Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Raffi started to walk away. Cecilia put a hand on Dahj’s necklace, but then stood up from her chair forcefully, letting it slide back about a foot.

“Soji’s kind and sweet and she cares about others. She wants to trust people, but because she’s been so manipulated, she’s scared to. All she really needs is someone to prove to her that the galaxy isn’t all out to kill her. She doesn’t know who she is and, at this point, is much like a Borg cut from the Collective; lost and wandering, questioning who they were and are, wanting desperately for someone to understand her. She just wants a friend.” There was a long pause after Cecilia concluded.

“How well do you know her?” Picard finally asked. He hadn’t seen them spend much time together on Nepenthe. Where was all this coming from?

“A whole lot better than you,” she snapped. She walked away, moving past Raffi, who could feel the anger resonating from her. To a point, though, Cecilia was somewhat justified, because she was right; Picard didn’t know Soji at all.

Cecilia didn’t cry. She didn’t punch a wall or scream into a pillow. She just shut herself away in her room and sat on the window ledge, pressed against the glass itself. It was cold against her skin, but it felt somewhat nice to her. It wasn’t ideal, but it was okay. Space was cold, too, so what did it matter? It was also lonely, empty, and hollow. Oh, so hollow. Much like her? She didn’t know. Cecilia thought about how one of the little stars she was looking at could actually be the planet they were looking for. Would it even be a good thing if they found it? Soji had told her that it could be the two of them, but Cecilia knew that once they found the planet, it would just be her. There was music playing in her room, of course, but she kept the volume low, so that only she could hear it. The song was ‘Broken’ by Anson Seabra, which was exactly how she felt at this moment.

If you see the boy I

used to be

Could you tell him that

I’d like to find him?

‘Cause I’ve been high and

I’ve been low

I’ve spent a thousand nights

alone, trying to hold on tight

Am I broken? Am I

flawed?

Do I deserve a shred of worth,

or am I just another

Fake, forgotten lost cause?

And am I human? Or am

I something else?

‘Cause I’m so scared,

there’s no one there

To save me from the

nightmare that I call myself

A part of her remembered that Elnor could bind himself to a lost cause. He could bind himself to her. She shook her head with a small, fake smile. No, she was  _ less  _ than a lost cause; even more pathetic. What was she worth? Everyone had a face value, what was hers? A very small thud rang from the window, as a bitter tear fell from the Vulcan’s face. Bitter, was that what she was feeling? Bitter or empty? Maybe both. She closed her eyes, trying to reach back into the void she had been avoiding for a while now. She wasn’t looking to project across the galaxy this time. No, she was focusing in a much closer area, narrowing in on a particular room in the ship. In her mind, she could see and hear Picard in the chǎteau of the holodeck, talking to Admiral Clancy. She let herself slip deeper into the void, allowing herself to gain a better mental grip.

“That’s a hell of a report,” Clancy was saying.

“And you thought I was a desperate old man. Unrealistic, paranoid, potentially on the verge of dementia.”

“Let’s leave it at unrealistic.”

“And now, the windmills have turned out to be giants.”

“What are you looking for? You want an apology.”

“I want a squadron.”

“Jean-Luc-”

“Clancy, out there in the Vayt System  _ right now _ , beings who have the same right to life and liberty that you and I or Commander Data are granted are being hunted down by an enemy who is set on their extinction.”

“Jean-Luc-”

“No, Clancy! If you say this isn’t a job for Starfleet, then I’m sorry, but you are a waste of space!”

“ _ Admiral Picard,  _ with all due respect, and at long last,  _ shut the hell up _ . I’m sending a squadron to rendezvous with you at DS12. Stay put until they get there.” Picard nodded slightly in response. “What about CW?”

“What about her?”

“The Professor herself is asking about the situation.”

“Then tell Vanessa everything that’s going on. Tell her the truth.”

“Which will make her want to get involved immediately.”

“No. Tell her that we’re handling it.”

“You know the Professor as well as I do, Jean-Luc.”

“I know that, but I cannot allow her to join us. Explain to her that if we truly need her help, she’ll receive a transmission immediately.” There was a pause.

“Clancy out.” The other Admiral’s image disappeared. Picard was overjoyed that he finally convinced Clancy of the situation. However, there was a part of him that wasn’t entirely focused on the small victory.

“You have many people worried about you, Cecilia. Keep that thought in your mind.” Cecilia instantly pulled herself from the void, knowing that she had been caught. Her mom was asking around. What would her mom want with this little adventure of theirs? Vanessa had never been involved in Romulan conspiracies before. In a movement of anger, she got up from her place and walked out the door, planning to head downstairs for some food and hot chocolate.

Picard and Soji were already downstairs by the time Cecilia got there. The two of them were sitting across from each other, both eating. Soji looked up when she saw Cecilia, but the Vulcan didn’t return the favor, walking straight over to the replicator. She ordered hot chocolate first, then ordered a bowl of chicken and shrimp cheese pasta to eat. She was actually really hungry, but didn’t fully know why. She sat down at the table directly in front of the replicator, so that she was facing Picard. It was quiet for a while.

“Is it alright?” Picard broke the silence, looking at Soji.

“It’s good,” Soji replied.

“Is there something you’d prefer?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. You don’t know what it’s like to have this…. _ vacuum  _ inside you, Picard. To have someone ask if you like scrambled eggs and have no idea if the response is actually coming from you or your instruction set.”

“You’re right. I don’t know what it’s like. I can only try to imagine it. Your memories, your history, to you, feel like merely incidents you heard about. Something that happened to someone else.”

“Yes.”

“You feel that you don’t have a past anymore.”

“Because I don’t.”

“That’s not true. You have a past. You have a story just waiting to be claimed.”

“You’re talking about Data.”

“Among other things, yes.” Cecilia knew that Soji was still very unsure about Data, but she also remembered how she had agreed that the two of them were cousins, in a sense.

“Alright. Tell me about Data. What was he like?”

“My mom always said that he was a gentle soul,” Cecilia spoke up, causing the others to look at her. Picard motioned for her to join them. Reluctantly, she picked up her mug and bowl and followed the motion, sitting down on the right side of their table.

“Data was also….brave. Very curious. Yes, very gentle. He had a child’s wisdom, lacking habit or bias. He made everyone laugh, except when he was trying to make us laugh.”

“And you loved him,” Soji concluded. Cecilia smiled a little.

“I, um….yes. In my own way.”

“My mom definitely did,” the Vulcan commented, trying to help a little with Picard’s feeling of awkwardness. He still knew so little when it came to expressing his emotions.

“Did he love you?” Soji asked Picard, while also silently acknowledging Cecilia’s statement.

“Data’s capacity for showing and processing emotion was limited. I suppose we had that in common,” he replied.

“If I could see you with his eyes and memories, what would I see?”

“How would I know that?”

“What do you hope I’d see? How do you wish he would remember you?”

“You mean, if he had survived me, rather than vice versa. I hope he would remember me as someone who believed in him, in his potential, and celebrated his successes. Counseled him when he fell short of anything. Helped him when he needed help, and got out of his way when he didn’t.”

“Someone who truly gave a damn about him,” Cecilia added, an empty smile spreading across her face.

“Your mother was the one who gave more of a damn than anyone else. Although Data was so limited in showing emotions, he cared very much for Vanessa, as we all did. He found that she made him….as human as he could be, whenever she was around. I believe she does that to everyone.”

“It’s her habit.” The Vulcan’s empty smile returned. There was a moment of silence.

“He loved you,” Soji concluded, making her statement so adamant that it could only be taken as fact. Picard slightly smiled, but didn’t respond with words.

Cecilia and Picard were back down in the med bay within the hour, after the Vulcan received the notification from the EMH that Jurati was coming to. It was silent between the two of them. Jurati’s eyes slowly opened.

“Did it work?” she asked in a soft voice.

“You neutralized the viridium tracker, if that’s what you mean,” Picard replied, his tone filled with disappointment. “We’re no longer being tracked by the Tal Shiar.” Cecilia stood on Jurati’s right side, monitoring her vitals. “We’re heading for DS12. When we get there, you will turn yourself into the authorities for the murder of Bruce Maddox.” Jurati’s eyes began to water, but she still nodded, a tear slipping down her face. “I’ve been trying to work out how  _ you  _ could have done such a thing. He was your mentor, your…. _ lover _ . Why?”

“I had to. When Commodore Oh came to find me that day, she…. _ did  _ something to me. Poisoned me.”

“The head of Starfleet security made you swallow a viridium tracker?” Cecilia questioned, just making sure she wasn’t missing something.

“Yes, but that’s not the poison I’m talking about. She put poison in my  _ mind _ . She put her hands on my head and poured in….” Jurati couldn’t make herself finish the statement. Picard looked to Cecilia.

“Vulcan mind-meld. Oh put in a psychic block. I can’t get to it and she can’t physically say it,” the young adult explained.

“You must fight-” Picard started to say.

“I don’t want to talk about it!” the doctor snapped. There was a pause. Both the Admiral and his technical apprentice had been startled by the force of Jurati’s snap. “Do you believe in hell? Neither did I, until I saw it. Now, I think about suicide every day.” Picard couldn’t help but drift his eyes over to Cecilia, who subtly shook her head in response. “That’s how I comfort myself.”

“Was this vision something Oh lived through herself?”

“No. It happened thousands of centuries ago because of hubris. Hubris like Bruce’s.”

“Because of synthetic life?” Cecilia inferred.

“We’re at a threshold. I  _ saw  _ it. Oh showed me. Unless we act quickly and destroy even the smallest possibility of synthetic life-”

“Hell will come again. This threshold-”

“Is the coming of Seb Cheneb,” Soji’s voice concluded. Everyone turned. Cecilia recognized the name Seb Cheneb from Romulan mythology. “The Destroyer. Me.”

While Jurati started to get to know everything about Soji, Cecilia sat off to the side in silence, her thoughts racing through her head. Something just didn’t feel right. It wasn’t like the feeling she got before her seizures. No, this was more…. _ emotional _ . She didn’t know what it was.

“Do you sleep?” Jurati asked.

“Every night.”

“You sleep every night,” the doctor repeated, just in amazement. “My God. Do you eat?”

“When I’m hungry.”

“What do you do when you’re sad?”

“Cry.”

“Thirsty?”

“Drink.”

“You drink when you’re thirsty. That’s so beautiful. You have a constellation of three beauty marks on your right cheek.”

“Which is a good thing?”

“It’s artistry. Noonien Soong, who made Data, thought of himself as an artist, but he never gave Data three beauty marks.”

“I also have a mole on my chest. And a crooked pinky toe.” The two of them chuckled.

“You’re a wonder. A technological masterpiece and work of pure art.”

“Am I a person?” The atmosphere immediately died down, smiles fading and everything. “Am I a person? Not in theory. To you. Right now. Looking at me. Do you consider me to be a person like you?” There was a long pause. Too long for Cecilia’s comfort. “Commodore Oh told you to kill me too, but I would never give you the opportunity.”

“Now that I’ve met you, I would never take it. Never, ever again. Okay?” Soji nodded slightly. Both of them turned when they remembered that their Vulcan friend was still there. Both of them stood up and moved over to her, slightly alarmed at what they were seeing. Cecilia didn’t even realize that three drops of her blood had already hit the white floor and stained it.

“Two seizures, an infection, and now a  _ major _ nosebleed? Cecilia, what is going on?” Picard questioned. The Vulcan’s health had never come into question before they left Earth, but now it was making the Admiral become more and more worried. “Is there something you haven’t told me? Something you’re susceptible to? A severe allergy to something?”

“I’ve already told you, I don’t know,” she answered. Her voice seemed worn, which was mostly how she felt. Cecilia sat across from Picard, next to Rios, while Raffi was sitting on the seat perpendicular to both of them. Everyone was getting worried about Cecilia. The infection had been one thing, but the unexplained seizures and now a major nosebleed, which took almost twenty minutes to clot, were another.

“Be honest, did someone do something to you, like with Doctor Jurati, that is causing this?”

“No.”

“Is it stress? We can find something to help you.”

“I told you I don’t know. Things just happen.”

“Not like this, Cecilia. These are medical issues, they  _ must  _ be investigated.”

“We did that with the first seizure and the EMH called it epilepsy.”

“Cecilia, we’re  _ worried  _ about you. And whether you believe it or not, I  _ have  _ been worried about you.” Cecilia didn’t look at him. “Will you at least answer or  _ acknowledge  _ me?”

“For the galaxy’s sake, I keep telling you the same thing over and over.  _ I don’t know _ . I don’t know what’s going on. Don’t you think I’m worried too? But right now, my main focus isn’t myself.  _ We  _ made a promise to Dahj.” Cecilia held up the charm that hung from Dahj’s necklace, which hadn’t left her neck since she first put it on. “Now that promise has been transferred down to Soji. That’s my main concern. She needs all the support she can get, and by the galaxy, I’ll give it to her because she deserves a chance at life. I know that I’ll be fine for the time being, but she doesn’t. It is now my job to make sure that this promise to her is carried out until completed. I-” Cecilia was interrupted by Soji and Jurati entering the room. The Vulcan immediately stopped talking. The two walked over to the others hesitantly.

“Well,” Jurati spoke gently. “I’m done murdering people. So that’s a good thing. I’m going to turn myself in when we get to DS12.”

“Are you okay?” Rios asked her. Jurati nodded, but it was somewhat absent. She and Soji sat down together on the available bench seat. Rios was glancing at Soji every so often, which Cecilia noticed immediately.

“I’m sorry. You’re all the closest I’ve come in a long time, maybe ever, to having a…. _ crew _ . Sorry I had to ruin it.” There was a pause, which was broken by Rios standing up and moving towards the replicator.

“Should we get into it?” Raffi asked him. He nodded, but didn’t answer. The replicator whizzed, Rios’ order appearing a few seconds after. He walked back over to the table with a plate and a bowl in his hands.

“I’m sorry, too,” he said to Soji, placing the items in front of her. “Peppermint ice cream, french fries. To me, it looks kinda disgusting, but….you love it, right?”

“How did you know?” Soji asked in response.

“Oh, we’ll get there, honey,” Raffi answered. “Now listen. Two, three hundred thousand years ago, somebody dragged eight suns together. They hang a planet right in the middle. On this planet, they place a warning.”

“The Romulans call it-” Cecilia started to say.

“Admonition,” she and Jurati concluded in unison. Raffi continued.

“This warning says ‘don’t do what we did. We created synthetic life-forms, and….’”

“They evolved,” Jurati finished the statement. “It didn’t go well. At all.”

“Meaning?” Rios asked.

“Apparently, these people believed there was a threshold,” Picard began to explain. “A threshold of synthetic evolution, a dividing line.

“Like with Zegram Cochrane and warp drive,” Rios compared. “When you cross that line, somebody shows up?”

“Somebody really bad,” Jurati added.

“The Romulans took Admonition very seriously,” Cecilia said. “They created a group known as the Zhat Vash. It’s dedicated to finding and exterminating all synthetic life.”

“So, imagine,” Raffi took over, “thirty, forty years ago, Doctor Noonien Soon starts turning out synthetic life that’s equal to human beings. Superior, in some ways. The Romulans send in a mole, a half-Romulan Vulcan named Oh. She burrows into Starfleet, rises through the ranks, and ends up as the head of Security. While this is going on, she has only one mandate: put a stop to the Federation’s research and further development of synthetic life-forms. To this end, she decides to engineer a situation so horrifying that the Federation’s only response will be to ban synths forever.”

“The Romulans were behind the attack on Mars,” Jurati stated, fear and realization filling her voice.

“Yeah. It has a particular ring to it, am I right?” The sentence was pointed towards Picard.

“Carry on,” he told her.

“The commodore’s work wasn’t done. Nine years ago, a Starfleet vessel had first contact with a pair of emissaries from an unusual new world.”

“One called himself Beautiful Flower,” Rios added. “The other one was-”

“Jana,” Soji cut him off. Cecilia and Picard exchanged glances. Raffi took immediate notice of it, but decided that she would ask later. “How do I know that?”

“The same way I know you like to dip french fries in peppermint ice cream.”

“Jana and this Flower came from the world that Bruce Maddox fled to after the ban,” Raffi continued.

“The Zhat Vash have been looking for this world ever since,” Cecilia said.

“Which they have now found because of me,” Soji nearly cut the Vulcan off. Soji stood up and slammed her fist on the table, causing it to vibrate and knock the plate of fries off. It was startling to everyone. Soji walked away a few seconds later. There was a long pause.

“Why did you two have the reaction to the name Jana? Do you know something about this that we don’t?” Raffi questioned.

“No, it’s not that,” Cecilia answered. “It’s something completely different from this. My mom was diagnosed with schizophrenia years ago. She would hear….three….voices in her head. Eventually, the Enterprise crew discovered that these voices weren’t  _ just  _ auditory hallucinations. The ship’s previous encounter with a being of omnipotence allowed for a high shock of electricity to bring these voices to life as….as  _ living beings _ . They were returned to my mother’s head when this happened, but it could potentially happen again. However, when my mom was….assimilated into the Borg Collective, a new voice joined the other three and remained even after the assimilation process was undone. My mom named her…. _ Jana _ . I was about ten years old when my mom experienced an electric shock, but Jana was the only one of the voices who became a living being. The other three stayed in my mom’s head. Jana is still out in the galaxy today. My mom claims that she hears from her occasionally, but I know that isn’t the truth. But the bigger fact is that Data would’ve known about Jana, right?”

“Yes, he did,” Picard confirmed. “All of the senior staff of the Enterprise did. Vanessa struggled very much with these voices, Jana in particular. Jana was a creation not only of Vanessa’s mind, but also of the Borg. But I had no idea that Jana experienced the same event as the other three.”

“Starfleet kept it quiet. They didn’t want anyone to know that a partial-Borg version of my mom was running around. But the bigger picture is that Data would have known about Jana, so maybe he left something about her that Maddox found and decided to use.”

“It’s a plausible theory,” Raffi commented. “Was there anything else about-” She was cut off by the ship starting to power up, which gained everyone’s attention. Rios and Cecilia practically flew up the stairs, rushing to get to the cockpit. When they reached it, they saw Soji sitting at the right hand control panel.

“Soji, what are you doing?” Rios questioned. There was a force-field up, preventing them from reaching her. “¡Emmet, ayuda! Emmet!”  _ Emmet, help! Emmet! _ Rios slammed his fist against the force field, to no avail. Raffi came up behind them.

“I deactivated them. Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt anybody. I just need to get back home. You’ll get your ship back, Rios, the minute we’re there.”

“Kid, I understand why you’re doing this, but it’s not right. We want to help you, but you can’t just-”

“How could you possibly understand? Is someone trying to wipe out your family? Do you even have a family?” There was a short pause.

“I do not.”

“What is that?” Raffi asked, looking at the holographic map of space that Soji had pulled up. “Is that some kind of subspace tunneling?”

“That’s a map of the Borg transwarp conduit network,” Cecilia told her. “My dad was on the team that discovered the network.”

“At this speed, we’re about nine hours from the nearest node,” Soji added. “I don’t actually know how I know that. I must have picked it up on the Cube while I was busy being Doctor Soji Asha. The second I heard the truth about the ban, the Admonition and what happened to my brother and sister on the  _ ibn Majid _ , I suddenly seem to know a lot of things.” Cecilia pursed her lips a little, not liking the comment about Soji’s ‘brother and sister’. It seemed, to the Vulcan, that Soji was picking and choosing what she wanted to believe, ignoring the truth as an entire whole.

“Do you know this?” Rios asked. He started to sing in Spanish. “Arroz con leche, se quiere casar con una viudita de la capital, que sepa tejer, que sepa bordar, que ponga la aguja en su campanal.” Cecilia recognized it as some type of child’s lullaby, but wasn’t sure what the actual song was. Rios overrode the force field by the time he finished singing. Soji stood up and turned around, knowing the force field was gone. “It’s a lullaby my mother used to sing to me,” he told her, approaching Soji. “She didn’t like other people playing with her things, either.” The two were extremely close to each other, but it was more of a challenge emanating off of both of them. Familiar footsteps caused them to turn slightly. Picard walked up to them.

“She’s done it Maddox’s way, she’s done it my way. Let’s try doing it her way and hope we get there in time to warn them.” Picard took the captain’s chair and placed his hands up to the holographic controls. He paused for a few seconds. “Actually….I don’t know how to work this.” He left the pilot’s seat.

“So your plan is just to fly into a transwarp conduit, don’t set up a structural integrity field-” Rios started to say.

“Or chronition field,” Cecilia added, taking her place at the left hand control panel.

“Just jump right in, gravimetric shear be damned?” He shook his head at Soji, walking closer to her again. “ _ Sirena  _ is my damn ship, hija.”

“Captain Rios, please take me home. For Jana’s sake.” After a long pause, Rios looked over at Cecilia.

“Siete, get the fields up now.” 

“On it.” The Vulcan nodded, turning back to the panel and letting her fingers work their magic. Rios turned back to Soji, as he took the pilot’s seat.

“I got you.”

Not too much later, Rios, Picard and Cecilia were the only ones in the cockpit, and it was mostly quiet. Cecilia was listening to music again, mostly ignoring all of her racing thoughts about the…. _ bizarreness  _ of their entire situation. The song she was currently listening to, however, had been placed in her music player without her prior knowing. It was a small ‘gift’ from Jurati and Soji, who believed that Cecilia needed it. It was called ‘Candle’ by Cavetown.

You’re not a monster and no

one’s going to shut you out

Mom and Dad love you,

you can come home now

Have the strength to push

away all the pain of yesterday

Your heart is a candle and

I won’t let you blow it out

So what you messed up, at

least it won’t happen again

Every time I screw up I feel

I’ve let down all my friends

There’s so much life out here in

space, it’s crazy that we’re here at all

“You know, I remember standing the night watch as a young Ensign on the bridge of the Reliant,” Picard said. “Feeling….I was the only one awake in all of that….emptiness, all that silence. I’d forgotten, until just now how much I loved it. I knew Alonzo Vandermeer slightly.” Cecilia knew the name. Vandermeer had been the captain of the  _ ibn Majid _ , but had taken his own life while aboard. Rios had been dismissed from Starfleet just months after the incident. “He was the first officer to an Academy classmate of mine.”

“Captain Marta Batanides,” Rios replied.

“You knew her?”

“No, but….I felt like I did. She was a legend to the old man. My old man. Captain Vandermeer.”

“Hmm. Did he know they were synthetic?” The Vulcan knew that the Admiral was talking about Beautiful Flower and Jana, who had been….murdered aboard the  _ ibn Majid _ .

“I have to believe that he did. He must have thought that, because of that, he’d be able to live with it.”

“I didn’t know him well, as I said, but I felt that he was a good man. One of the best STarfleet could offer.”

“He was. I hate that he died thinking it was really Starfleet that betrayed him. Betrayed itself.”

“But Starfleet  _ did  _ betray him. We  _ did  _ betray ourselves, long before Oh gave Vandermeer that order. The ban itself stands as a betrayal. The Zhat Vash set the trap, but we could have simply just sidestepped it. We gave way to fear.”

“It took her all of five minutes to hack my ship, Picard. And now, maybe there’s an entire planet of them. Raffi said that the Romulans call her ‘the Destroyer’. What if they’re right?”

“It might have happened two hundred thousand years ago,” Cecilia finally spoke up, “but the past is already written. Isn’t the future susceptible to some rewriting and editing? We have openness, optimism, and, hell, maybe some curiosity. All the Zhat Vash has is fear and secrecy. Fear is what leads to destruction, not-” She was cut off by Soji’s footsteps approaching them.

“We’re there,” she told the three. Cecilia quickly punched in the instructions for the ship. She looked to Soji, who looked to Picard, who looked to Rios for approval. He nodded, slowly taking the ship in towards the node. As the bright colors of the node grew closer, Cecilia really only had one thing going through her head. It was just one sentence:  _ Your heart is a candle, and I won’t let you blow it out _ .

Her only regret would come later, when she would realize that if she had just looked over a little bit more to the ship’s right, she would have seen the small Romulan pod that was following them.


	9. On this Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used/referenced to go to their rightful owners ( Dear Winter by AJR and Nuvole Bianche by Ludovico Einaudi (Rousseau cover))
> 
> Link to Rousseau cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VR-6AS0-l4

The entire ship was shaking, as they entered the transwarp network. Jurati had taken shelter in her room, sitting under a table.

“Please be over, please be over,” she repeated multiple times. Those who were in the cockpit had taken seats immediately. Cecilia was instantly feeling the motion sickness rising in her stomach.

“Chroniton field integrity at ninety percent and holding,” the computer announced. They were moving so fast that the Vulcan’s vision was nearly distorted, different colors flashing in her eyes every few seconds. They exited the node a few moments later. Cecilia was slightly pushed forward, due to the sudden stopping of the shaking. She felt like she was going to be sick. Her hands were shaking to the point that she could barely let her fingers work on stabilizing the ship. There was a decent size planet in front of them, its colors resembling those of Earth.

“Ghulion system,” Rios stated. “Fourth planet. That the one?” Soji, who was sitting beside Cecilia, turned back and nodded.

“Did we beat the Romulans?” Picard asked.

“I’m not picking up any Romulan ship signs on long or short range scanners. Doesn’t seem like there’s a ship of any kind,” Cecilia reported, letting her still shaking fingers pull up holographic outlines of the information she needed.

“Nice work, honey,” Raffi said to Soji, with a smile. “You got us here really damn fast, and I am never going to do that ever again.”

“Agreed,” Cecilia responded, still feeling like she had been pitched in a box and thrown around.

“What happened to Deep Space Twelve?” Jurati’s voice asked, causing everyone to turn. “Am I still under arrest?”

“Change of plan.”

“We just came twenty-five lightyears in fifteen minutes,” Picard explained.

“I noticed a little turbulence,” Jurati replied sarcastically. “Is that….?”

“We call it Coppelius,” Soji told her, smiling at the planet that was apparently her homeworld. An alarm suddenly went off, killing the happy moment. Cecilia moved as quickly as possible to figure out what was going on.

“Shit, shit,  _ shit _ ,” she repeated. “Our Romulan shadow is back. Take a seat, everyone. Strap in.” Everyone obeyed her order, including herself.

“I thought she disabled the tracking device,” Picard spoke up. “How the hell did he find us?”

“He must have guessed based on our last known position and course,” Soji answered. The pod was firing rapidly at the ship, managing to hit it a few times. Everyone had at least one hand on the straps keeping them in their chairs. Rios flipped the ship, so  _ La Sirena  _ was behind the pod, now able to fire at it. The lights on the pod started to flicker after it was hit.

“His cloak’s going out,” Raffi announced.

“Status,” Picard ordered.

“He’s alive,” Cecilia reported.

“Barely,” Raffi added.

“His pulse is almost undetectable.”

“It’s a trick,” Soji concluded. Cecilia knew who was in that pod, and was thinking almost the same thing, but not quite.

“And if it isn’t? We can’t just let him die.”

“ _ He  _ attacked  _ us _ . He has no one but himself to blame.”

“There’s a difference between killing an attacking enemy and watching a wounded one die,” Picard told Soji. Although Cecilia was hesitant, she silently agreed with him. “Beam him to the sick bay immediately.” The Vulcan was about to lock on to the Romulan’s signature, but the ship jerked, letting everyone know that they had been hit two more times.

“He reversed his cloaking device and used it as a projector. Shit!” Cecilia called out. The ship jerked again, this time more violently. “Get him on screen!” Raffi pulled up the image. Cecilia wanted to know exactly what he was doing.

“He’s powering up his disruptor cannons,” Rios told them. “We better-”

“ _ What the hell is that _ ?!” Cecilia questioned, extremely alarmed what she was seeing. The Artifact fell through the node entrance, drifting easily. Seeing it now made the Vulcan realize how truly massive it was.

“It’s supposed to be broken,” Jurati said. Everyone was just in some sort of shock.

“Its weapons are coming online,” Raffi warned. “I’m picking up a bogie from the planet’s surface.”

“Make that five,” Cecilia corrected. Her chest was starting to tighten and hurt, making it painful for her to breathe. “One of them’s heading straight for us.”

“What kind of bogie?” Cecilia and Raffi looked at each other, knowing they were seeing the same thing.

“It’s like….a giant flower,” Raffi told Rios. The flower was opening on the end closest to the ship, still coming closer.

“Cecilia, your nose,” Soji said. Cecilia put her hand to her nose and it was starting to bleed significantly. She slightly shook her head, forcing herself to ignore it. She had more clothes shoved in the bag that was currently wrapped around her leg, for the sake of holding it down. The flower was beginning to envelope the ship, adding to Cecilia’s panic. This was one of those moments where she could not afford to mess up. This was  _ life or death _ . She looked back at Picard, just out of a quick reaction and uncertainty. She didn’t know what to do.

“Hold on tight,” Rios called out, giving her somewhat of an answer. The entire ship went pitch black. All of Cecilia’s bad memories rushed into her head, including her mother’s memories of assimilation. The darkness, the cold, it was all there. She was scared. Scared of the dark? Maybe, added with other things. Rios flicked his lighter, giving a small amount of light, which was relieving.

“What just happened?” Picard asked.

“They hit us with a flower,” Jurati said.

“It looked like an orchid,” Raffi commented. “What is it?”

“I’m pretty sure we just call them orchids,” Soji answered.

“All power’s gone,” Cecilia told them, her voice shaky.

“What do we do about it?”

“Nothing,” Rios replied. The ship started to rattle and creak, sending everyone on high alert. It started to shake again, but this time more consistently and violently. It looked like there was a wall of fire in front of them, dark red light reflecting through the ship. Cecilia shut her eyes tight, terrified of what she was seeing. Closing her eyes didn’t help much with the sick feeling in her stomach, though, from how violent the shaking and jerking of the ship was. As they entered the atmosphere, the orchid shielding the ship burned away, leaving just some of its main structure. They were somewhat smoothly flying a few seconds later, now able to see the clouds hovering just below them. There was no longer a devilish looking light reflecting back to the inside of the ship. Cecilia quickly unstrapped herself, blood rushing at a faster rate down her nose, neck and shirt. It wasn’t slowing by any means. The blood was a little bit darker than normal, but she was more concerned with the fact that it wasn’t stopping. She turned behind her to check to see if Picard was okay, but it didn’t seem like it. His head was tipped back a bit and his eyes were closed.

“Captain?” she called out in a shaky breath, instantly standing up from her seat. Everyone else turned immediately and was greeted with the same sight.

“Thank you for coming….everyone,” the Admiral said in a soft, yet struggling voice.

“Captain,” Cecilia repeated. Everyone rushed to get to Picard. Cecilia grabbed his hand with her left hand, which did not have blood on it, like the other one. She mentally begged for him fingers to grasp hers, as they had when she had had her seizures, but his fingers didn’t move in the slightest.

Cecilia sat next to the now unconscious Admiral, who had been moved to the med bay. Her nosebleed stopped eventually, but it  _ was  _ composed of a significant amount of blood.

“I’m sure he’ll be okay,” Jurati tried to reassure her.

“I’m just worried,” Cecilia admitted. “Really worried.” The Admiral started to stir, catching both of their attention. His eyes slowly opened.

“Welcome back. How do you feel?”

“A bit confused,” Picard answered, raising his hand to block the sunlight that was shining into the room.

“We had Chris manually open the shutters. I didn’t know there were shutters. I didn’t know there were windows. The ship seems okay, but we have no power. Nothing works.”

“We weren’t sure if we’d even be able to run a scan on you,” Cecilia told him. “Until Agnes found one of the old school tricorders.” There was a pause. “You were really out.”

“At first, I thought head injury, but I couldn’t find any signs of trauma.”

“Is something wrong?” Picard asked.

“I don’t know. It might be the age of the tricorder, or….” Picard looked back towards Cecilia, who looked down towards the floor, giving him his answer.

“I suspect that Cecilia told you the truth.” Jurati’s eyes started to water, as she looked to Cecilia.

“I didn’t want to believe you,” she told her.

“I didn’t either,” the Vulcan replied. She walked over to the doctor and pulled her into a hug, knowing they were dealing with the same pain.

The three walked to the main downstairs area, where the others were shifting through supplies.

“Hey, JL,” Raffi greeted with a relieved smile. “You okay?” Picard answered only with a small smile and head nod. Cecilia walked to the back of the room, towards the one staircase. Rios could tell something was wrong with her.

“Siete?” he called quietly. She didn’t respond.

“Could I have your attention?” Picard spoke up. “Thank you. Um, I am going to return Soji to her people, and we will tell them that a Romulan force is on its way to exterminate them. One more thing, I, uh, have a brain abnormality. I’ve known about it for years. I never had any symptoms, so I never thought too much about it. However, just before we left Earth, I learned that my condition was….more pressing. The prognosis was terminal, and there is no effective treatment. There will be no further discussion. Anyone who treats me as a dying man runs the risk of pissing me off. Is that clear?” Picard’s last two sentences were what set Cecilia off. No further discussion?  _ No further discussion _ .

“Are you kidding me?” she broke the silence. “ _ Are you kidding me _ ?”

“Siete….”

“Cecilia, I-”

“No. No. I did  _ not  _ come halfway across the galaxy for you to throw away any trace of my emotions, just like you threw away my mom’s!”

“Don’t you dare speak of your mother like th-”

“ _ Or else what _ ?! I didn’t come just to be shoved aside, just like how you treated my mom for years. You pushed her aside to the brink of letting her fall off the cliff. Get it through your thick skull,  _ I am not Vanessa Kassidy Williams _ .” The young adult stormed out of the room, climbing the stairs and walking all the way to the exit of the ship. When she reached the outside, she was hit with a wave of hot air, which wasn’t exactly a very comfortable thing. She pulled her walking stick from her bag, using it to trudge through the sandy terrain. The hot and dry air filling her lungs was like inhaling heated sand. She made it about half the length of a football field before tripping on her own two feet. Pain instantly shot through her leg, centering in at her knee. Cecilia leaned against the cooler and shaded side of a rock, facing the wreckage of the Artifact. Smoke was continuing to rise in the sky from the massive block.

“Cecilia!” a familiar voice called. The Vulcan looked up and turned. Raffi approached her after a few seconds. “Skipping out on us, kid?”

“No.”

“Look, I know you’re not one to really talk about feelings and stuff, but at least give me something.”

“I already knew about the stuff that was going on, but for him to say that we can’t talk about it or anything, it’s bullshit,” she admitted. “He already broke my mom’s heart, he’s just repeating the same damn thing.”

“He’s breaking your heart now?”

“He keeps saying that he doesn’t want me to be like my mom because she felt that she couldn’t share emotions with him no matter how much he begged her to. Now, he’s just shutting me out like he eventually did her.”

“I’ll admit, he doesn’t always think about how his handling of things affects others, and sometimes it’s those closest to him. He’s come to think that maybe the world would be better if he just ignores it. But, I can tell that he really cares about you. He wants the best for you and all of us, too.”

“If he really cared, why would he be such a hypocrite?”

“Cecilia, honey, people do stupid things all the time. They say things they don’t mean, and do things that hurt and sting. Your mom, and trust me, I researched her, could tell when people were doing things like that. You’re a lot like your mom. There’s a big difference, though. Your mom, as you said, didn’t talk about her feelings. You can talk to him, honey. He won’t bite. It might be scary, but it’ll be worth it.” Cecilia’s heart grew conflicted, but she nodded anyway. “Do you want to come back with me onto the ship?”

“No,” the Vulcan nearly cut her off. “No, I’ll just wait for you guys out here.

“There’s a lot of people here for you, honey. And I’ll be expecting your call.” Cecilia looked up as Raffi stood up and walked away. It was just one little call that was holding them together. No, it was more that that one little call was holding  _ Cecilia  _ together.

The others joined her less than half an hour later.

“I’m going to the wreck,” Cecilia told them, leaning against the rock. “We’ll split up. After I check things out, I’ll loop back and head for the settlement.”

“Absolutely not,” Picard replied, which made her feel more annoyed.

“We should probably stick together,” Soji agreed, which lessened Cecilia’s annoyance. It was different coming from Soji. “Hugh was my friend, too. It might deter us a little bit, but it’s the right thing to do. Besides, then no one can be outnumbered if they get into trouble or end up facing homicidal fungus.” The Vulcan absently nodded in agreement. She hated the fact that she already knew Hugh’s fate and had to keep quiet about it. She would never be able to explain it to Picard. Hell, she had barely been able to explain everything to  _ herself _ . It was all just jumbled facts, coming together and separating whenever they wanted to.

“Let’s go, then.”

They continued to walk in the heat and dryness of the air. Sometimes a nice, crisp air was a refreshment, but this dryness was more of a punishment. It was painful. After what felt like a much longer time than it probably was, they reached the wreck of the Artifact, finding an entrance that had been created by the crash. It was still dark, but at least sunlight now flowed in. It didn’t feel so cold.

“The flowers didn’t give them a soft landing,” Raffi commented.

“I doubt they were designed to bring down something this massive,” Rios answered.

“Hello?!” Cecilia called loudly. Her voice echoed against the metallic walls.

“Siete,” Rios snapped, in an attempt to hush her. “There could still be Romulans.”

“We have  _ phasers _ ,” she responded. “It’s not like we’re  _ completely  _ helpless.” Rios wanted to say something, but he didn’t, and everyone kept walking. They came around a corner, now seeing some of the xBs gathered in an area. There were supplies everywhere, most likely everything they could find. One of the xBs faced Picard.

“Locutus,” he stated. Picard had an expression of, what Cecilia would describe as, fear. Hell, the statement made  _ her  _ uncomfortable. She was about to speak, but a joyfully familiar voice interrupted her.

“Cecilia!” Elnor called, making her turn. A huge smile spread over her face, both in relief and happiness.

“Elnor!” she answered, as he ran over to her. They hugged, with her arms over his shoulders, and his arms at the middle of her back. He was just as grateful to see her. To  _ really  _ see her, this time. She was real, and not just a presence. More importantly, they were both alive. “It brings me joy to see you.” His hair was soft and silky against her skin, but Cecilia was just happy to feel  _ safe  _ again, being held in Elnor’s arms.

“Heads up!” a new voice broke up the little reunion. The hug was broken, as everyone turned to see Seven of Nine standing up on a small ledge. It wasn’t too high up, but enough that would require a little bit of effort to reach it. She kicked two dead Romulan guards off the ledge, which was also being saturated in sunlight. Her features and figure were all brightened and made more vibrant. “So, are you here to help with the cleanup, or do you just make the messes?”

“Seven!” Cecilia called out, moving as quickly as she could, as Seven jumped down from the ledge. The two hugged, but the Fenris Ranger was the one who felt more relief.

“You did good, Star Girl,” she said, referencing how Cecilia gave Elnor the tracker. The hug broke after a few seconds. “Now, let’s get down to it.”

Cecilia and Elnor walked around a little, explaining what had happened to each other. Seven, apparently, had taken control of the Artifact’s Collective, which led to them taking control away from the Romulans. Cecilia, reluctantly, explained Picard’s condition to Elnor, breaking both their hearts all over again.

“I didn’t….expect something like this,” Elnor said, unsure of what else to say.

“No one did. I mean, I never did. It just….adds to a decision I have to come to in so little time.”

“What decision would that be?”

“Whether I stay with you and Seven, or go with Picard and the others.”

“You would stay with me?”

“I….want to, but I don’t know if it’s the right thing, right now. I don’t know where I’m supposed to be. Picard and I are on rocky terms, but I….I  _ did  _ promise him that I would stay with him until the end of all this.” Elnor wasn’t sure how to respond, mostly because he already knew which one she  _ had  _ to choose. Their wants came after everyone else’s needs. He slid her ring off of his finger, placing it in her hand.

“Now that we’ve reunited, I believe this goes to you, now.” Cecilia looked at the ring for a few moments. It used to mean so much to her. It showed her association, her area of study, how far she had come as a cadet when she received it. Now, it was just an object.

“Keep it,” she said, giving the ring back to him, “for the next time we meet. You can give it back to me then.” There was a pause, but Elnor slid the ring back on. A part of him felt bad that she had given him meaningful possessions, being the ring and Seven’s tracker, but he had given her nothing, besides returning Juno’s chew toy to her. Cecilia missed her dog more than anything. Juno was still her best friend. “How are the xBs doing?” she asked, breaking the silence between them. “This must be difficult for all of them.”

“I imagine it is,” Elnor replied. “Can you feel what they’re feeling, from your ability?”

“I could, but I’m blocking it. An emotional overload isn’t exactly something I want to feel right now.”

“I understand. I don’t think I would like to experience that, either.”

“Everyone needs a little happiness, you know?”

“I agree.” Cecilia pursed her lips a little ,starting to think.

“You know, music makes people happier. I have an idea.” Elnor followed her to the ledge where Seven had originally stood. Cecilia pushed herself up, so that she was now sitting on the ledge. She rifled through her bag, carefully pulling out her painted ukulele.

“What are you thinking?” Elnor questioned, curiously looking at the instrument in her hands.

“You’ll see,” she told him, quickly tuning the uke. Some of the xBs were watching her. She started strumming softly, letting her fingers work their magic. A song that her dad used to sing to her came into her thoughts, so she decided to take the thought as a sign. It was “Dear Winter” by AJR. Placing her fingers in the shape of the first chord, she started to sing:

Dear Winter, I hope

you like your name

I hope they don’t make

fun of you

When you grow up and

go to school, okay?

‘Cause Winter is a

badass name

Ah, it really doesn’t seem

like there’s anyone for me

But dear Winter, I hope you

like your name

I’m hoping that someday,

I can meet you on this Earth

But, shit, I gotta meet your

mom first

Cecilia couldn’t help but let a little laugh slip at that line. Elnor watched her in near fascination, as the xBs started to draw near. She was bringing a group of lost souls together with a simple instrument and a single, soft voice. She continued:

Dear Winter, don’t move

too far away

And please don’t say

I’m hovering

When I call you to ask

about your day

I wanna hear about

your day

Ah, will we still hang out

and talk when I’m no longer

In charge?

But dear Winter, I hope you

like your name

I hope you let me take a

shot with you

On your twenty-first

But, shit, you gotta ask your

mom first

Cecilia’s voice started to slow down for the last few lines, the tone becoming more sad, or bittersweet. Elnor hadn’t heard a tone like it in quite a long time.

Dear Winter, I’m looking

for your mom

I gotta find a girl that

doesn’t mind

That I’m inside my head

a lot

Winter, it won’t be too long

First, I just gotta find

your mom.

She finished the song with a final strum of the last chord. She didn’t expect, or particularly want, any applause, and that is exactly what happened. No applause, no cheers, it was just quiet. The xBs, however, had  _ smiles  _ on their faces. Or, at least, what could be considered as smiles. Their expressions resonated of small happiness, and temporary inner peace. Maybe even nostalgia. Picard had watched this little occurrence from about fifty feet away, having heard the music. He was very pleased with the Vulcan that she made such lost souls feel emotion again. The two of them made eye contact, and he motioned for her and Elnor to join him. She hopped off the ledge and started walking towards him, her hand in Elnor’s.

Everyone was gathered around in a circle already, letting the two young adults know immediately that it was time for everyone to depart. Cecilia had to make her choice now, even though Elnor already knew what it was.

“I feel that all we do now is say goodbyes,” Picard stated.

“Yes, but this time’s worse because you’re dying,” Elnor answered. Picard’s eyes landed directly on the Vulcan standing next to the young Romulan. Her eyes shifted to the left, towards Elnor, giving the Admiral his answer.

“You go ahead, I’ll join you,” Picard told the group. “Except you, Cecilia.” Hesitantly, the others walked away, as they were told.

“I’m torn,” Elnor admitted. “You and Cecilia need protection now more than ever.”

“No. The xBs need your protection much more than I do. You must try to get the defense systems back online.”

“I may never see you again.”

“That is true of any two people who are saying goodbye.”

“Picard-”

“El….I am very, very proud of you.” There was a long pause, which no one particularly wanted to break. Cecilia’s eyes started to sting, but she held back from showing any emotion. She already knew that Elnor deserved to hear that and it brought him needed peace, and who was she to take that away? To wish it away? No, it would be beyond selfish. She shoved the thought to the back of her head, wanting it to be erased.

“Well,” she finally broke up the moment of silence, “I’ve done a lot of thinking, myself.” She looked up at Picard. “I promised to stay with you until our mission is completed, meaning Soji’s return to the settlement and a stand against the Tal Shiar. Once that’s over, I’m coming back here. I’ll figure out a way to get Juno, but then I’ll come back here.”

“Cecilia-” Picard began to protest. This was absolutely something he  _ did not  _ want.

“This isn’t up for debate,” she cut him off. “This is my choice.” She turned to Elnor and Seven. “I’ll be seeing you guys soon.” Seven and Picard exchanged looks, knowing that even though it may later become Cecilia’s path, the way she was going about it wasn’t right.

“Alright, Star Girl,” Seven finally answered. “We’ll see you soon.”

As the group approached the sanctuary in front of them, Cecilia filled with dread. She would typically get insightful feelings, but they weren’t always reliable. This time, however, Cecilia was certain that her feelings were validated. She stayed away from Picard as much as she could, but she also knew that he wanted to talk to her. She didn’t. They reached the entrance of the sanctuary. There were people wearing brightly colored clothing, each being a pair of twins. Exact matches. They began to approach the group. Cecilia still didn’t feel right. One of the people walked up to Soji.

“Soji,” the woman greeted. “Welcome home. We have missed you so much.” Recognition spread across Soji’s face.

“Arcana,” Soji answered. “I remember you. Your name’s Arcana.”

Their reunion was interrupted by a voice Cecilia knew all too well.

“Welcome, my friends,” a man welcomed, walking up to them. He stopped instantly when he reached them. “Oh my God.”

“James,” Cecilia heard herself say. Her brother. The person she had searched for for so long.

“Cece.” James stood in his place for only a second, then rushing straight to Cecilia, who was rushing to him. They broke into an embrace, holding each other close for the first time in years. James spun Cecilia around in a circle, holding her up from the ground. He had missed his little sister so much.

“I looked for you,” Cecilia told him once he let her go, her voice ready to break down. “Mom looked for you, Dad looked for you,  _ I  _ looked for you for so long.”

“I’m so sorry,” he replied. They hugged again. The siblings were more than happy, and everyone could tell. James looked to Picard. “Captain.”

“Hello, James. It’s been a while.” Picard held out his hand to James, but the half-Vulcan went above what the Admiral was suspecting. He hugged the Admiral, whom he had known as Captain all his life. Picard smiled after a few seconds. “I missed you too.”

“You’re the reason I became what I am today,” James told him, breaking the hug.

“I am glad to hear that.”

“Where’s Alexia?” Cecilia cut in, somewhat impatiently. “And your twins?”

“Safe. They’re all safe, thank God. I visit them whenever I can.”

“When in the hell did you get into any of this?”

“It was a few years ago, when James joined Bruce and I,” a new voice stated, approaching them. James turned around. A man in a lab coat was approaching them. Picard and the siblings all recognized his face. Well, it was more Cecilia and Picard. James had been seeing the face for years. The man had almost the same face that Data once had. “Dr. Altan Inigo Soong,” he introduced himself. “Mad scientist.” Cecilia instantly looked over at her brother. She connected a weak telepathic link with him. The two were half empaths, with Cecilia having slightly greater abilities than James. They could carry on short mental conversations, but nothing compared to what their mother could do.

“He looks and sounds like-” she began to mentally say.

“Uncle Data,” they concluded their thoughts in unison. She disconnected their link.

“You have Data’s almost exact face,” Picard told Soong.

“Ah, yes, I’ve heard that before.” Soong glanced at the siblings, then back to Picard. “My father had me, but he created Data, a fact he never let me forget. You seem to bring bad news.”

“A fleet of Romulan warbirds is on its way to destroy us all,” Soji explained. James and Cecilia exchanged glances, their thoughts on the same track.

“How many more of the orchids do you have?” Picard asked.

“Please say two hundred eighteen,” Raffi added. 218 warbirds was a terrifying thought.

“We had fifteen. Now we have ten,” Arcana answered. “We can make more, given time.”

“You have two days.”

“It might not be in time, but we can still start making more,” James said.

“And we best hear the entire story,” Soong added. “Come with me, please, so we can hear it.”

Soong and James led them to what seemed to be a small outdoor gathering area. Cecilia mentally equated it to an outdoor gig space, something she would have booked during the time she used to do gigs as a part time job. It had been a very long time since she did that. She had started when she was still in Starfleet.

“It’s all my fault,” Soji explained. “I let the Romulans right to us. I’m so sorry.”

“Nonsense,” Soong replied. “You can’t be expected to keep a secret you don’t even know you know. Unfortunately, the ban brought out the more deceptive side of Bruce Maddox. Maybe even devious. We warned him that his plan might draw very unwanted attention.”

“Soji,” a new voice said from the stairs that led to the area. James stood up to greet the owner of the voice. It was another android. She wore long pink and silky-looking robes, leaving her midriff revealed. She had Soji’s  _ exact  _ face, but also had golden skin, as well as long black hair, compared to Soji’s shoulder- length style. Picard followed closely behind her, which made Cecilia stand and move next to James. Although androids were emotionally and mentally unreadable, the Vulcan didn’t like the feeling that this one gave off. “You and Bruce may have saved us all. True, you may have brought us all kinds of trouble, but you have also brought us needed answers.”

“That’s Jana,” Rios whispered to Raffi. Cecilia and James both heard it.

“No, Captain Rios,” James answered. “This is Sutra. Jana was her sister.”

“More importantly,” Sutra continued, you’ve brought us  _ information _ .” Her eyes were an unnatural green, but had almost a….deceptive look hidden behind them. Soji moved off to the side, and the Vulcan siblings did, as well. Sutra walked to the front, so that everyone could see her. “Doctor Jurati, Admiral Picard tells me you’ve experienced this Admonition?”

“Only secondhand,” Jurati replied, a worn tone in her voice. Cecilia looked back at Picard, but he didn’t look at her.

“And yet, what you saw convinced you to end Bruce Maddox’s life. That his death was necessary?” Jurati nodded. “And now?”

“When I think back to that day, that day I….I….killed Bruce….it was like….like….”

“Like you were out of your damn mind,” Raffi concluded.

“Maybe she was,” Sutra suggested. “Maybe these pitiful Romulans have been driving themselves insane pointlessly for centuries, trying to tussle with something that was never intended for organic minds in the first place.”

“You believe the Admonition is intended for synthetic minds?” Picard asked.

“That’s what I’d like to find out.”

“How?” Arcana questioned. “We had one ship. We lost it when we lost Jana and Flower.”

“Even if we had a transwarp tunnel, that wouldn’t-” Soji began to argue.

“Oh, I don’t need to go anywhere at all,” Sutra cut her off. She looked straight to Jurati, then holding out her hand. Jurati stood up very hesitantly, stepping over to Sutra in an even more reluctant manner. “What did they show you, Agnes Jurati?”

“Oh, yes, yes,” Soong started to praise. “Very clever, Sutra, very clever.”

“Sutra’s always had a passion for Vulcan culture,” James explained. “She’s read books written by Sarek, our great-grandfather, she taught herself to play the ka’athyra and she has also learned….”

“You taught her the mind meld,” Cecilia finished his statement, though it sounded more like an accusation. Their mother had always warned them to stay away from the mind meld, as it could be emotionally difficult to come to terms with.

“She taught herself.”

“No way,” Rios interrupted, moving quickly over to Agnes.

“No, Chris,” Jurati began to protest.

“You’re  _ just  _ getting over this, Agnes.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” She turned to Sutra. “You deserve to know.” After a long pause, Rios reluctantly stepped away. Sutra put her hand near Jurati’s face, but didn’t touch it yet.

“You’re terrified,” she stated. “Don’t be.” Cecilia felt a rush of anxiety run through her body, as Sutra placed her fingers on specific sections of Jurati’s face. “My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts.” Everything happened so quickly. It was only a few seconds long, but Cecilia made the mistake of opening her mind to, in a way, intercept the mind meld. To see at least a flash of the mythology they were facing. It was such a mistake. Jurati had finally stepped backwards, into Rios’s protective hold. “Fascinating,” Sutra stated. James had watched his sister, and knew instantly from her reaction of what she had done. Her hands were shaking significantly.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” he yelled at her, grabbing her shaking hands. A choked sound came from her mouth, and everyone of the  _ La Sirena  _ crew knew what was happening, causing them to immediately get up from their seats. Her body stiffened, but at least she didn’t hit the ground hard, this time. It was such a mistake. She had made mistakes before, but nothing of this weight. Admonition wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

“I promise, I’m fine,” Cecilia told Dr. Soong. “ _ La Sirena _ ’ _ s  _ EMH diagnosed it as epilepsy and my mental sensitivity just adds to it. This isn’t the first time it’s happened, anyway.”

“Just be very careful. I created a medication that will help to prevent more seizures from occurring. The medication is in your system right now. It may take a couple of hours to kick in, but I’m positive that it will work,” Soong explained. Cecilia nodded in response.

“Thank you.” Jurati entered the room, following a bright blue butterfly that flew out one of the windows. Knowing they had much to talk about, Cecilia stood up, ready to walk out. “I’ll leave you two to talk. Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome, Cecilia.” Jurati and Cecilia shared small, yet empty, smiles with each other, as the Vulcan walked out of the room, heading down the hall. The doors to most of the rooms were open. The rooms contained lab equipment, with a few spare places to sleep. Cecilia passed one room, but then immediately pulled herself back. It was a music room. A grand black and gold piano was placed in the middle of it. She was instantly drawn to the piano. The keys were uncovered, and she immediately lined her fingers along them, after taking a seat on the piano bench. She thought about what to play, but ultimately let her emotions choose. She played the first chord of “Nuvole Bianche” sung by Ludovico Einaudi. Cecilia didn’t know the lyrics, since they were in a language that she was unfamiliar with, but she knew how to play it on the piano. It’s soft and sad tone filled the room. The Vulcan didn’t even have to look at her fingers to know she was playing correctly. The beautiful melody of the piece echoed, letting it be heard everywhere. Her fingers slowed, coming back to the starting chords. Before she could continue, however, a familiar person took a seat next to her and continued the bass clef part of the piece. Cecilia looked over at James, playing the treble clef part, the small and empty smile on her face. He shared it. Their hands brushed against each other once or twice, but they concluded the song together. It was quiet for a few minutes.

“Hey, um, I know that those are Mom’s old clothes, so, you know, I thought that maybe you’d like something different….?” James offered, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, actually. I’d really like that.”

The Vulcan followed her brother back to his room, where she changed into an outfit of her choice. James sat on his bed, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. It had been truly a long while since they had seen each other, but now it seemed like there wasn’t as much to say. Not yet, at least.

“Okay, tell me what you think,” Cecilia called, peeking her head around the corner.

“Let me see it.” She walked around the corner, looking more like herself than ever before. She was wearing dark green, bell-bottom jeans, which fell to just above her ankle. There was about a five inch distance from the end of the material to the floor. The jeans didn’t flare out too much, but enough that it was still noticeable. She wore short brown hiking boots with it, socks remaining unseen. Her shirt was white and her shoulders were showing. Cecilia put her hands in the pockets of her new jeans and spun around, letting the entire outfit flare out and spin with her. “Damn,” James finally spoke. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but if you weren’t my sister, I would think you were my wife.”

“Is there a right way to take that?”

“Fair point. But what I’m trying to say is you look good, sis. You look like  _ you _ .”

“I like it. The material actually feels really lightweight.”

“I know. It makes you look more, like, bouncy, you know?”

“I feel like it. And it still has  _ pockets _ . Pockets are a Godsend. And it looks nice with my jacket.” Silence fell between the siblings a few moments later. It was an extremely awkward atmosphere. They both knew they needed to talk, but one of them had to initiate it. “Hey, um, James?”

“What?”

“Do you want to take a walk?”

Cecilia and James walked around together, telling each other of their recent experiences, and Picard’s condition.

“I didn’t want to keep going back and forth between them and here, but Alexia was insistent that they’d be okay. She knows how much this work means to me. We video chat every day, so I still get to see Grace and Ella,” James told his little sister. Truthfully, he missed his twins and wife every second that he wasn’t with them.

“Does Mom know?” Cecilia asked, not fully sure how to respond.

“No, but I think Alexia gave her kind of an idea what’s going on.”

“Have you talked to Mom since?”

“Kind of. Not for that long, though. Maybe like ten minutes every other week. I bet you haven’t talked with Mom in a while.” Cecilia shrugged in response.

“I did what she told me. I found Picard and I’ve stayed with him. I’m not sure what else I’m supposed to do.”

“She’s not mad at you, Cece. Neither is Dad. They’ve let it go.”

“It’s not just about that, James. I know they’ve let it go. I have too, but it’s not about that anymore. It’s bigger.”

“Cece, I hate to say this, but I know what you’re thinking and you’re not going to be able to save everybody.” James meant saving Picard. Cecilia didn’t have the power to do so, even though she wanted to so much.

“Why can’t I try?”

“I’m just being honest with you. Unless someone, who could be you, I don’t know, discovers a cure or treatment, there’s nothing you can do.”

“James, we waited our entire lives for him to come back. I’ve only really known him for four years. I’m not ready to let him go now.”

“Dammit, Cecilia, be happy you even got four years. How do you think I feel? I didn’t get that.”

“But you remembered him. I was three years old when he left and you were almost ten. You got the memories, I got vagueness.”

“I went to Starfleet for years trying to rise in the ranks to be a captain, just so I could be like him. Don’t you think I’ve wanted to meet the man behind the motivation?”

“You’re forgetting, James, I did the same thing. I joined Starfleet Academy for the same reason. To get on a Starship, rise in the ranks, and get my own damn ship. You at least stayed in Starfleet and got a good position on a damn good ship. I didn’t even get that far. You have no idea what it’s like to feel that you’ve failed your parents, your brother, the person who inspired you to do it all. You don’t know what it’s like to fail everyone.”

“Quite a loud conversation you two are having,” a familiar voice cut into their conversation. The siblings both turned. Picard was walking towards them. Cecilia instantly wanted to leave, while James instantly wanted to stay.

“We were just having a discussion, Captain,” James responded.

“I can see that.” The siblings exchanged glances, both silently agreeing not to say anything. “So, James, I heard you’re married now.”

“Yes, sir. We’ve been married for about four and a half years. My twins just turned three last month.”

“Oh, congratulations. What are their names?”

“Ella Catherine and Grace Myra.”

“Ah, very pretty names. And your wife’s name….?”

“Alexia. We met when we were on Voyager together.”

“Under Admiral Janeway, when she was captain, I presume?”

“Yeah.” Cecilia was beginning to feel awkward just standing there. She didn’t exactly want to talk to Picard, but she also didn’t want to just leave James there. Cecilia felt the one emotion towards Picard that her mother never admitted to feeling: cross. Very cross.

“I’ll leave you two to talk,” she said quickly, then starting to walk away.

“Cecilia,” Picard called. She ignored him and kept walking. James suddenly felt very irritated with his sister, and he planned on having a major discussion with her later.

Cecilia walked around by herself, just wanting to clear her mind. Anger wasn’t something she normally felt, especially towards Picard, and she didn’t like it. She always, in a way, felt that she owed him so much, but she couldn’t repay it. It added to her guilt. She had never walked away from Picard like that, and neither had her mom. She didn’t like being at this place anymore. A greater part of her wanted to be with Elnor and Seven. Particularly Elnor. The thought made the half-Vulcan sad, mostly because she knew that even if she joined Seven and Elnor after everything, she would still never be allowed to be with the Qowat Milat. Picard had already quickly disapproved, Elnor had no idea how she felt, and how would everyone else see it? She was figuring they’d see it as….pity. That was something she couldn’t take.

“Hey, Siete Lenguas!” she heard Rios call. It wasn’t the right time for this. “Raffi wanted me to check up on you, kiddo.”

“Screw off,” she snapped, not bothering to look at Rios. He suddenly became concerned.

“Siete, what’s wrong?” he questioned, starting after her.

“Just screw off,” she angrily replied.

“Kiddo, hey, what’s going on?” Rios grabbed her arm. Cecilia pulled it away. “ _ Hey _ ,” he said, making sure to get her attention.

“I’ve had enough!” Cecilia finally cried out, while keeping her voice at a decent volume.

“What happened?”

“I want to go home already. My brother thinks that I’m lucky over him and I’m losing one of the few people I still care about and he says we’re not even allowed to talk about it. It’s such bullshit!” Rios didn’t know much about the emotions of women, or teenagers/young adults, but he recognized when someone needed just a hug. A hug could do so much more than words. He hugged Cecilia, and she easily returned it. She knew she needed it and decided to accept it, instead of denying it, as she knew her mother would have done. Rios broke the hug after a few minutes.

“Hey, kid, I’m telling you, everything’s gonna turn out okay. Somehow it will. The best thing you can do right now, doesn’t have to be at this minute, is talk to them one on one and then together.” Cecilia nodded, trying to keep herself from beginning to cry. “You’ll be okay, kiddo.” Rios ruffled her hair a little, managing to get a small smile from her.

“Thanks, Rios,” she told him.

“Be good until we get back.”

“I will be.”

Cecilia stayed at the edge of the settlement entrance, looking out into the horizon. There was a lot going through her mind and it was difficult for her to remember that none of them truly understood everything to each single detail.

“See anything out there?” Soji’s familiar voice asked. She stood next to the Vulcan, also looking out to the horizon.

“Nope,” Cecilia replied. “Just terrain, the sky, and, oh look, more terrain.”

“What do you think about what’s going on?”

“Personally, I have no clue. I barely  _ comprehend  _ everything that’s going on. I have no idea where I’m supposed to be.”

“I know how that feels.”

“I don’t think either of us know what path we’re supposed to take.” Cecilia turned and looked towards Soji.

“Some things just aren’t that….” Soji’s voice trailed off, as she spotted something that wasn’t on the horizon, but, instead, just about two hundred feet away. Cecilia caught sight of the same thing. They both saw the Romulan walking towards them. The Romulan's hair was dark and his eyes were bright blue; the same color as Vanessa’s. He had some facial hair, but little enough that his features weren’t hidden. They knew exactly who it was.

“That’s-” Cecilia began to ask.

“You bet it is,” Soji replied. It was Narek. The, quote-on-quote, “bastard” that both Soji and Cecilia had a sudden urge to punch in the face.

Narek was taken to the only technical “prisoner” cell that the Synthetics had, Cecilia close behind. Although she wanted to hit him, he still drew her in, peaking her twisted curiosity. A part of her understood what Soji saw, or once saw, in Narek. She hadn’t really looked at him since their first meeting. His blue eyes, she found, were a little entrancing. Well, a little was an understatement. Narek was sitting against the wall of the roomy cell. Cecilia stared at him from the other side of the glass window, which was the length and almost the same height of the cell. Narek avoided her gaze, thinking about everything, with Cecilia at the top of the list. Her new clothes  _ did  _ make her look….what was the word he was thinking of….ah,  _ stunning _ . The half-Vulcan thought for a minute, then knocked on the glass, causing the Romulan to look up at her.

“Hey!” she called. “Hey, asshole!” Narek looked away a little bit, getting annoyed. “Yeah, you, that’s right. Asshole, hey, screw you!” She put her left hand on the glass and her right hand on her hip. There was a  _ lot  _ that she wanted to talk to him about. Narek just looked away, annoyed with her. Even though he viewed her as very attractive, she was currently a thorn in his side.

“Is this really how you treat your prisoners?” Narek asked Saga, who stood by the control panel for the cell.

“We have never had a prisoner before. How do the Romulans treat their prisoners?” Saga asked in response. Cecilia looked at Narek, knowing the answer to that question.

“Let’s change the subject,” he answered. Cecilia sat down in front of the glass, directly in front of Narek. She had a few ideas of what she could do.

“Can I see your eyes?” she asked. He didn’t look at her.

“You go from calling me an asshole and flipping me off one minute, to asking if you can see my eyes the next.”

“Well, there are some things that need to just come straight out and over with. You know, like, those things you just need to say?”

“It’s called an urge. The urge to say something that’s on your mind.”

“Exactly. Once you get to say it, then you can start to talk in a civilized way. Typically with that, there’s not many insults or anything, just talking.”

“Key word is typically.” Cecilia was using her empathic ability just a little bit, which allowed her some insight as to what Narek was feeling. The only word she could describe it as was conflicted. He was filled with conflicting emotions, and a part of Cecilia wanted to figure it out.

“I wouldn’t talk much to him,” Soji’s voice suggested from behind Cecilia. Cecilia slightly turned, but not much. Even though she wanted to get closer to Soji as a friend, she wanted to talk more to Narek.

“I’d say it’s the other way around,” Cecilia replied.

“Don’t let him out. He’ll just use everything against us.”

“Soji,” Narek called, standing up and walking over to the glass. Cecilia felt that it wasn’t her place to be there, at that moment. She quickly connected an extremely weak telepathic link with Narek.

“You, me, talk later,” she sent to him, then disconnecting the link. Narek silently acknowledged her message, but didn’t say anything. Cecilia stood up and left, planning to go back as soon as she could.

“Starfleet Command, this is Jean-Luc Picard transmitting on a secure hyperfrequency,” Picard spoke into a transmitter in James’s room. “I have a first contact situation and a priority request to establish diplomatic negotiations and to protect the inhabitants of Ghulion IV from an incoming Romulan attack.” There was no response. “Starfleet Command, please respond.” James entered the room.

“I know a channel that I can guarantee will receive your transmission,” he told the Admiral, then adjusting the frequency on the transmitter equipment.

“Oh? And what channel would that be?”

“That’s classified, Captain.” They smiled at each other, chuckling a little. James happened to look up. “Oh, hey, Soji.” Picard turned to see her walk in.

“Nice room,” she commented, her tone and expression remaining neutral. She was drawn to a picture of James, Maddox Jurati and Soong. Jurati and Maddox had their arms around each other. 

“They were very close.”

“When I heard about what Agnes had done to Bruce, I couldn’t understand it. Let alone imagine myself doing something like that.”

“Something like what?” Picard asked.

“Taking life to save life,” she hesitantly answered. “Hurting someone to save others. I just….I guess I’m just trying to understand the logic of sacrifice.”

“The logic of sacrifice,” Picard repeated. “Hmm. I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Sacrifice isn’t always a logical thing,” James added.

“I think it depends on if you’re the person holding the knife.” Soji looked back at the picture.

“She thought she was doing the right thing in that moment, but now she’s horrified by what she did.”

“Did ehe think it was the right thing, or did she believe she had no choice?”

“Maybe there’s just no logic in it at all. Maybe the rationale for killing is just fear. It’s the opposite of logic.” James was listening closely, but something didn’t feel right. His mental sensitivity was giving off bad vibes. “But what if killing is the only way to survive?”

“Soji, what are we talking about? What are you planning?” James stood up suddenly, his ability sending shock waves through his body. Something was  _ definitely  _ wrong. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a feminine shriek in the distance.

“Cecilia!” he cried out, breaking into a full sprint out the door.

Cecilia came back after she saw Soji and Saga leave, after promising Saga that she’d stand as a guard. When Narek saw her walking down the small slope towards the cell, he looked away, already feeling annoyance towards her. She smiled a slight bit at him, then sitting down where she had been before; directly in front of him on the other side of the glass. After a few minutes of silence, Narek finally glanced up at Cecilia. He saw that she was still smiling at him, just a little bit.

“Can I see your eyes?” she asked him. Narek sighed.

“Why are you so fascinated with my eyes?” he questioned in return, his tone filled with annoyance. She shrugged a little.

“Is it really that much to ask for? Just to see your eyes?” Narek, truthfully, wanted her to go away, which Cecilia knew. She had a plan. Finally giving in, Narek looked at her, letting her see his bright blue eyes. He focused in on the shade of green her eyes were.They were still as beautiful as when he first saw them, in his mind. They were so bright and vibrant. She smiled, finally getting a deeper look at his bright blue eyes.

“Well, there, now you’ve seen my eyes,” Narek said, looking away from her.

“Thank you,” she replied. That wasn’t something Narek was used to hearing. It almost made him uncomfortable.

“Whatever tactic you’re using, it isn’t going to work,” he told her.

“Who said I was using a tactic?”

“I’m not as dull as you believe me to be.”

“I never said you were dull. In fact, I believe you to be quite clever.”

“Cecilia, we both know this goes deeper than any of that.” The Vulcan went quiet for a few moments, thinking about her next statement.

“Well, I do have one question,” she finally spoke, breaking the eye contact between them. “During the entire time we communicated mentally, did you ever….think _ something _ was there? Or were you just too busy falling in love and trying to kill Soji to bother with me?” Narek looked at her, not expecting that question. He figured she would ask him more about his motives and  _ why  _ he did everything he did, not how he felt towards  _ her _ .

“Cecilia, I-” The Romulan was cut off by the thick ring of a thud. Cecilia had moved forward a little bit. A confusion and disoriented expression spread over her face, as she moved her hand to the back of her head. Her hair felt wet. She started to pull her hand away from her head, when there was another thud. Cecilia fell sideways, but managed to place her bloody hand on the glass, leaving a handprint. Sutra now stood where she had been sitting. Narek’s eyes were wide, but otherwise, he didn’t move. Sutra pressed a few buttons on the control panel, opening up the cell. The Romulan agent wanted to go to the now unconscious Vulcan, to make sure she wasn’t dead.

“Well,” the female android said to him in a rather seductive tone, “sorry to add more to your load, but we can’t afford any witnesses, now, can we? Oh, don’t fool yourself, I still have a desire to kill you. However, I need you for just a little bit longer.” There was a gasp from behind them, making Sutra turn. Saga stood at the entrance of the cell, a terrified expression on her face. In one swift movement, Narek leapt forward and shoved her hummingbird pin straight into her eye, killing her. “Better get going.” He nodded at Sutra, who actually quite intimidated him. Hastily, he pulled Cecilia’s bag over his front, and slung her over his shoulder. She’d wake up soon enough, but it would be a difficult task for now. Despite his struggling, Narek moved quickly, knowing that if he hesitated, he’d be killed anyway.

Soji and James ran to the cell area, only to see that they were both too late. Soong knelt beside Saga, not daring to remove the pin from her eye.

“My sweet Saga….what has he done? What has he done to your beautiful eye?” the scientist mourned. His android creations were his children, to him, and it pained him to see one of them had been murdered. James moved over quickly to the glass, where he saw a smeared, bloody handprint. The blood was mostly red, but had a greenish tone to it.

“Cecilia,” he instantly recognized. His blood had the same appearance. He looked back towards Soji.

“I should have killed him,” she said. “I  _ wanted  _ to kill him. Why didn’t I?”

The androids all gathered together, Saga placed on a plain, long table. They were mourning her loss. Sutra spoke, as James and Picard made their way through the crowd. The young Vulcan’s mental ability was running wild, fearing for his sister’s safety, and developing a greater untrust for someone in close proximity to him. He was beginning to plan for the worst possible scenario.

“The organics came,” Sutra was saying, “and now we have lost another sister. They will always fear us, turn on us, hunt us, kill us. In one day, our enemies will arrive here with overwhelming forces, intent on terminating our existence. That gives us just enough time.” James’s eyes narrowed, already knowing where this was leading.

“Just enough time for what?” Picard questioned, stepping forward.

“When I melded with Doctor Jurati’s mind, I experienced the so-called ‘Admonition’. Unlike you, I understood it. For you, it was a warning. For us, it was a vow.”

“Apparently, there are some other higher synthetic beings out there,” Soon explained. Jurati stood next to him, but James kept his stance at Picard’s side. The lines were being drawn. “The subspace frequencies needed to contact them are encoded in the Admonition.”

“Doctor Soong and I have designed a suitable beacon to summon them,” Sutra added. “We can have it transmitting before the Romulan fleet arrives.”

“Why?” Picard asked, shocked by what he was hearing.

“So that no more of my children have to die,” Soong answered.

“Doctor Soong, you know that this isn’t right,” James spoke up. “There has to be another way to do this.”

“This new federation unites synthetic life forms in a powerful alliance, spanning across galaxies.”

“They don’t  _ just  _ unite,” Sutra corrected him. “Their purpose is to seek out advanced synthetic life and clear it from the oppression created by organics.”

“Clear it?” James asked before Picard could.

“Let’s say they eliminate the threat of termination that  _ all  _ organic life forms ultimately pose.”

“ _ All _ ?!” the Vulcan snapped. His face and Sutra’s were only inches away from each other. “ _ All _ . What about the organics that created you? What about me? I taught you everything you know, I introduced you into my family, I cared for you as I do my own children, and you  _ dare  _ to claim that  _ all  _ organic life forms pose a threat?”

“Is your Federation any different from the Romulans? Banning synthetics was just a way of destroying us in advance.”

“So, you’re going to destroy us all?” Picard intervened, knowing that James was about to overflow. “You will become mass murderers.”

“I’m not like you, Picard. I will rescue those I can rescue. My people will survive.”

“And you will fulfill their prophecy.” He turned to Soji, who had been sitting silently off to the side. “You will become the Destroyer after all.” She looked away, which gave Picard more internal leverage. “Everyone. After the ban, after the  _ Ibn Majid _ , I understand why you did not trust the Federation, why you might not have trusted me, but I have a ship and there is room for all of you. I will see to your safety, and when you  _ are  _ safe, I will become an advocate on your behalf. I will speak to the Federation with your voice, demanding that they end the ban. And the Federation will listen to me!” There was a pause, but James knew in his heart at the pause only created false hope.

“No, they won’t,” Soong broke the silence. “Look at them. They’ve never met anyone like you before. That granite face, wisdom and integrity pressed into every line. The magniloquence, the conviction. They don’t know what hit them. Back on Earth, kids, they didn’t listen to him after the attack on Mars. They’re not going to believe him now. We’re going to have to place you under house arrest. And anyone that stands with you.” Soong’s eyes shifted to James, striking the Vulcan’s internal match.

“What?”

“We can’t let you walk around free, Admiral,” Sutra agreed. “Or you, James, due to your knowledge. You’ll have us doubting ourselves and losing our conviction. We can’t afford that, can we?” Sutra’s hands moved towards James, and he shoved her away. “Can we, Soji?” Picard and James turned back towards her.

“No, we can’t,” Soji agreed, after a pause. James approached her, which made the Admiral start to become nervous. Soji shared the same nervous look, but for a different reason. The Vulcan lowered his head to her ear.

“You can mess with me all you want,” he whispered. “I’ll simply turn the other way. Mess with my family and believe me, darling, the gloves come off. Mess with my  _ sister _ , and I will put you in your place, little girl.” He moved his head away from her, even taking a step back.

“And her, too,” Sutra cut in, motioning towards Jurati.

“No, don’t lock me up,” she started to protest. “I know I don’t deserve it, but I’m begging you….you….all of you are the culmination of everything I’ve worked for my whole life, everything that has ever mattered to me. I’ve been through so much to get here. And now I’m finally where I belong. If you don’t want to do it for me, do it for him.” Jurati looked up at Soong. “Let me help him survive what’s coming.”

“Yeah, she has been quite a help to me,” Soong supported her, looking to Sutra. “I suppose she’s as close to a mother as any of you will ever know.” Sutra walked right up to Jurati, looking her straight in the eye.

“A mother would die for her children,” she told the doctor. “Would you? I will know if you’re lying.” There was a short pause.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“Agnes….” Picard started to say.

“Take them away.” Four of the androids grabbed James and the Admiral.

“This isn’t right!” James called out, struggling against his creations minimally. “This isn’t right!”

Meanwhile….

The Starfleet professor entered her office, plagued by a day of long hours filled with tedious meetings. No classes to teach that day, no students to see, just listening to administrators that had little to no idea of how a classroom actually functioned. She placed her paperwork down, taking a seat at her desk. She rested her head on her fist, then glancing up at her message board. She picked her head up when she saw two particular names next to a transmission notification. She immediately opened the message.

“Starfleet Command, this is Jean-Luc Picard transmitting on a secure hyperfrequency. I have a first contact situation and a priority request to establish diplomatic negotiations and to protect the inhabitants of Ghulion IV from an incoming Romulan attack. Starfleet Command, please respond.” The professor knew that voice all too well. She was about to respond, but another voice from the transmission cut her off.

“I know a channel that I can guarantee will receive your transmission,” another all-too familiar voice said.

“Oh? And what channel would that be?”

“That’s classified, Captain.” Now was the moment where the professor hit the button she needed to, in order to send a response.

“Admiral Picard, this is Professor Vanessa Williams. I’m interested to know what’s going on, but I’d like to inform you from now that I’m on my way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See comments


	10. Before You Go, Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me and this story! The final product came out to 389 pages on Google Docs. It has been exactly a year since I started chapter one. This has been so special to me and I am so happy that people are enjoying it. I'll see you all next season when I come back with part two!
> 
> Live long and prosper, my friends. :)

Narek thought he had witnessed and dealt with extreme violence before, but now he was being led to believe that he had only just scraped the basics. He learned very quickly that the children of Vanessa Williams  _ did not  _ take well to being dragged somewhere against their will. Cecilia had fought like an  _ animal  _ when she regained consciousness. In the end, she couldn’t kill him or get away. He let her have her bag, which he already cleared of weapons, and, reluctantly, gave her her walking stick, so that she could walk. They traded insults for a while, mostly coming from the kidnapped, rather than the kidnapper. Narek tried his best to ignore it, but his patience was wearing thin.

“The Zhat Vash are just willing to kill anyone who even looks a bit threatening,” Cecilia was saying. “You’re built upon fear of a prophecy that may or may not come true. Fear isn’t always a good motive for killing someone.”

“ _ Obviously _ , Cecilia,” Narek finally snapped. There was a short pause.

“Well, I’m sorry I offended you with my common sense.”

“Are you always this sarcastic when you talk?”

“Are  _ you  _ always too busy with killing people and manipulating girls to talk to anyone else?”

“You know nothing of the Zhat Vash culture.” Cecilia snickered, already knowing exactly what to say.

“Honey, the only culture you possess is bacteria.” Narek stopped, wanting to turn around and hit her, but he still had  _ some _ decency, even if it was very little.

“You still haven’t explained anything about how you’re involved in all this.”

“I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain it.”

“Cecilia, I swear to-”

“For the galaxy’s sake, relax. I’ll tell you.  _ You  _ just have to remember that  _ I  _ am not stuck with you. You’re stuck with me. Starfleet Academy wanted me gone, now you get to find out why.”

“I believe I’m already discovering the reason.”

“I got drawn into this because I’ve lived with Picard for the past four years. Soji’s sister came to find us after the Zhat Vash attacked her. After she was killed, Picard made it his mission to find Soji. I guess I just ended up tagging along.”

“By the way you talked about it the night you left, it sounded like you were more than just ‘tagging along’.” Cecilia pursed her lips a little, thinking over that statement for a few moments.

“Yeah, I thought I was,” she absently replied.

“Then why did you have to stop at Vashti? That doesn’t make sense.”

“We had to stop to pick up some friends.”

“And where might these friends of yours be now? Back at the synthetic village?”

“Beep, incorrect, try again.”

“They’re not at the synthetic village?”

“Beep, incorrect, try ag-”

“I get your point now. How many of your friends are part of this?” Cecilia thought for a minute, then starting to count on her fingers.

“Eight….? Give or take.”

“You can’t even keep track of your own friends?”

“I don’t count numbers, I remember names.”

“Then what are their names?”

“Beep, incorrect, try again.”

“I see. Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.”

“Ding, ding, correct.”

“Oh? And what do I win?”

“One hour of me not trying to kill you.”

“Joyful.”

“Where exactly are we heading?” Narek used his hand to move her head, placing his fingers around her chin and turning towards a towering smoke pile. Cecilia knew instantly what it was from.

“The Artifact,” she whispered to herself, as Narek withdrew his hand.

“Precisely.”

As they approached the ruined Cube, Narek tied a gag around Cecilia’s mouth and bound her limbs, yet still allowing her the ability to walk. She was already familiar with the entrance and first level layout of the Artifact. They entered, but Cecilia didn’t dare to mention a word of what she knew. Narek held her by the wire that bound her hands, making sure she couldn’t break free. The small campsite that Elnor and Seven came into their view. Narek kept them both hidden by shadows.

“Would the xBs be better off dead?” Cecilia heard Elnor ask Seven. “Everyone hates them and they have no home. They don’t belong anywhere.”

“Am I better off dead?” Seven asked in response. “I’m an xB. I have no home. I don’t belong anywhere. Why don’t I just put my phaser to my head and get it over with?”

“Because,” Elnor stated. “I’d miss you.” As the fugitive and the captive moved, Cecilia had a plan in mind already. She started connecting a telepathic link to Elnor, but she wasn’t getting a response. She just needed to wait patiently. The atmosphere within her consciousness would alone send the message she needed Elnor to receive. Narek continued to drag Cecilia down the hall and into another sector of the Cube. He stopped at a corner railing, looking over to make sure the coast was clear. His right hand was still on the wire around her wrists. The sound of a knife being unsheathed made the two of them tense up, causing Narek to tighten his grip on the wire. Cecilia could feel the sharp pain of the wire becoming too tight, but forced herself not to acknowledge it. She didn’t dare to move. Narek slowly turned around to face Narissa, who held the knife by his throat for a few seconds. The tension between them faded and they hugged in reunion. The hug broke after a few seconds.

“Well,” Narissa said, her eyes shifting to Cecilia. “I see you’ve brought a friend. Have you found them?”

“Yes,” Narek responded. “They’re all here.”

“Killed any?”

“One.”

“Well, I call that progress. I’ll take you to my hiding place. Oceanfront. Crashing waves, you’ll love it.” The dethroned queen approached the Vulcan, allowing for minimal space between them. Cecilia narrowed her eyes, as Narissa moved the gag around her mouth, letting it fall to Cecilia’s neck. “Hello, little Vulcan. Glad to see me again?” The young adult wasn’t the best at coming up with responses, but luckily, for once, a spark of confidence stemmed through her body.

“I see you truly missed me that much, love,” she replied, keeping her voice steady. She had to make herself look unafraid.

“Hmm. Maybe you’ll be more useful to us than I thought.”

“Not sure how useful an unwilling hostage will be to you.” Narissa spied the walking stick that was leaning against the railing next to Cecilia. The Vulcan knew instantly what she was thinking. They both moved for it, but Narissa reached the walking stick first.

“Oh, we’ll see about that.”

James paced back and forth by his bed, while Picard leaned against the large, full-length windows. A little blue butterfly drifted over to the Admiral, who held out his finger and let it land. It turned to a bright orange after a few moments. It turned back to blue within seconds.

“His name is Absolem,” James told Picard.

“After the book  _ Alice in Wonderland _ .”

“Yes. My daughters love the story. I couldn’t think of anything else when I was making the butterflies here.”

“And you can tell them all apart?”

“No. Absolem is one of a kind. He’s quite special.” Absolem flew away, through the top of an open window. “His brother is named Chesire. I gave all of the butterflies their own little families. They’ve even chosen soulmates, as I determine it. Absolem’s soulmate is Margaret, Alice’s sister.”

“You have the kindness of your mother, James. Only someone from her family would think to create families for butterflies.”

“She would know how to get out of here.” Picard was about to answer, but was cut off by the door opening. Both of them turned to see Soji enter the room. Anger once again started to boil inside of James. Soji was the last person he wanted to see.

“I just wanted to see if the two of you were okay,” she said.

“We will be when we’re set free,” the Admiral replied.

“Try to see this from our perspective. You choose if we live. You choose if we die.  _ You  _ choose. We have no choice. You organics have never given us one.”

“To say that you have no choice is a failure of imagination. You see only what is given, not what could be made. Take a butterfly, and you would only see an insect. Please, don’t let the Romulans turn you into the monsters they fear. Stop them. Stop building that beacon. Shut it down, now. The beings you are trying to summon may be your salvation, but it will be  _ our  _ termination.”

“You want to use these  _ highly  _ explosive grenades to destroy flowers?” Narissa questioned, as Narek started packing them into the bags.

“Ship-killing flowers that fly,” her brother responded. “I made my way out of the nest, I can make my way back in. You have to stay here and bring the weapons system back online.”

“Our parents died for this, Narek. Many more gave their lives.”

“I  _ found  _ her, Narissa. Me. The family disgrace. The Zhat Vash. I found Seb Cheneb.”

“Cheers, I’ll drink to that,” Cecilia breathed out. Narissa had beaten her with the walking stick, then handcuffing her to a railing, and the Vulcan knew that serious damage had been done. At least one of her ribs had been cracked or broken and her face was bruised and bloody.

“I don’t believe anyone asked for your opinion,” Narissa told her, slamming the end of her phaser into Cecilia’s chest. The Vulcan took a deep, painful breath, but looked up with a bloody smile. She forced a small laugh from her mouth. Narissa hit her again, making the laughing stop. Cecilia’s mouth was filled with blood. “Go. I have my work to do. Take this one with you.” Narek uncuffed Cecilia, making her stand.

“Let’s go,” he told her. She spat blood in his face, which greatly annoyed him, but he ignored it.

They had left the Cube not too long after. They had walked for about fifteen minutes, when Narek stopped.

“What are you doing?” Cecilia asked, even though it hurt her to speak.

“I’m healing you up. You limp will slow us down. Here, take this.” Narek shoved a flask into her hands, then rifling through his bag to find something else. “Wash your mouth out with it.” Reluctantly, she obeyed the command, rinsing her mouth out and spitting the watered down blood onto the sand. Narek pulled a small device from his bag. Cecilia recognized it instantly.

“A nano-healer,” she said. “Laris has one.”

“Who’s Laris?”

“A friend that keeps me out of trouble.”

“You seem to have a lot of friends.” Narek started working on Cecilia’s injuries with the nano-healer.

“If about ten-ish is a big number, then I suppose I can agree with you.” The Vulcan’s mouth was clean again within a few swishes of water, and her pain was already subsiding.

“That’ll be the best I can do, for now.” Narek packed the nano-healer away. He and Cecilia locked eyes for a minute. Her green eyes still pulled him in, bringing him closer. In a heated split second, the two of them smashed their lips together. Narek’s hands moved to the sides of Cecilia’s neck, just under her chin and ears. Her hands had moved to the collar of his shirt, almost in a slightly threatening way. It was a deep kiss, but it only truly lasted for a few seconds. Cecilia was the one who had pulled away. Her eyes narrowed a little bit and she looked away. “What’s wrong?” Narek asked her. His tone was gentle and almost sweet. She looked back at him, shoving him a little bit back and starting to walk forward again.

“Your lips taste like how Soji smells.”

They walked in silence until they reached the wreckage of  _ La Sirena _ . Narek had moved for the bag, which Cecilia immediately noticed.

“If you even think about-” she started to say.

“I’m moving it to my other shoulder, calm down,” Narek cut her off. He climbed up the ship, until he reached about twenty feet from the main window. Cecilia struggled, but managed to follow. Narek picked up a rock and pitched it at the window. The Vulcan stood with her arms folded, as the Romulan continued to throw rocks. Rios and Raffi were for sure in the ship, but they were probably questioning a) what the hell the Romulan abusive asshole ex-boyfriend was doing there and b) what in the greater hell was Cecilia doing with him. Narek was about to throw another rock, but was quickly cut off by Rios’s voice coming loudly from the comms.

“Go ahead, throw it. I want to see what a photon torpedo can do at this range.”

“Yeah, but then you’d also be hitting me, Rios,” Cecilia replied, annoyance filling her tone. It wasn’t pointed towards the pilot, though.

“I have twelve wide-dispersion molecular solvent-” Narek started to add.

“He has a bag of bombs,” Cecilia interrupted.

“I’m throwing rocks.”

“What do you want?”

“And don’t think we won’t kick your ass, dirtbag,” Raffi added, which made Cecilia smile a little. “I’m surprised Siete or whatever the hell her nickname is hasn’t done it already.”

“What are you doing here, snakehead?” Rios continued to question.

“Trying to save the universe,” Narek answered. There was a pause. “We can keep fighting or we can work together. Stop what’s coming for us.” There was, yet again, another pause.

“Look,” Cecilia broke the silence, “I’ve had my ass kicked, I’m hungry and I’m tired. If this one tries anything, we’ll just kill him. So, can you guys please let us on the ship?”

The two of them explained everything to Raffi and Rios.

“JL. JL, come in,” Raffi tried to contact through the comms. There was no response.

“They’re building some kind of transmitter,” Narek explained.

“They’re trying to get something to come here,” Cecilia added.

“To do what?” Rios asked.

“We believe the synthetics are fated to destroy all organic life,” Narek told him. “We call it Ganmadan. The place is on lockdown. Whatever the transmitter is, they don’t want  _ anyone  _ interfering with it.”

“The thing with Picard is….” Rios started to answer.

“Interfering is his thing,” Raffi concluded.

“Same with my brother. It runs in the family.”

“The synthetics have jammed all comms. You won’t be able to reach him.” Everyone exchanged looks.

“Feldor stam torret,” a familiar voice said in the Romulan language. Narek quickly backed up to the wall, putting his hands up as a sword was held up to his neck. Everyone stood up.

“Elnor,” Cecilia greeted with a smile. “You got my message.”

“I do,” Narek answered Elnor’s statement in their native language. “I very much choose to live.”

“We disarmed and searched him, kid,” Rios told the warrior. “We may very well have a common enemy coming for us. You’re going to want to hear what he came here to say.” Elnor and Narek held steady and intense eye contact. Cecilia slowly stepped forward and placed her hand on Elnor’s shoulder.

“It’s okay,” she told him. Narek was looking straight at Cecilia, which Elnor highly disliked. “Elnor. It’s okay.” After a few tense seconds, Elnor sheathed his sword and turned to Cecilia, pulling her into a hug. Narek continued to keep his eyes on her, even though she turned her head away from him.

Absolem fluttered about Soong’s workspace, as the scientist looked over a data chart for Saga, whose body laid on a table. The pin that had been lodged into her eye had been removed, leaving unfixable damage. Soong glanced up, but then looked back down to his work.

“Hello, Absolem,” he greeted. Jurati entered the room.

“Altan, I….what are you doing?” she cut herself off when she saw Saga’s body on the table. Absolem fluttered about her shoulders, circling her in an uneven pattern.

“I’m transferring Saga’s memories into a V-module as a memento for Arcana. The damage to her optical processors corrupted the data stream. Did you need something?”

“Yeah, I’ve been, um, I’ve been working on the neural lace for your golem, but some of the files are encrypted. Bruce always said that your ‘crypto-kung-fu’ was the best.”

“Alright, I’ll see if I can get into those files. Keep an eye on the transcoding rate. Absolem, go fly outside, it’s better than staying in here.” Soong hurried out of the room, but the butterfly didn’t obey his command. 

“Got it.” She waited until Soong was completely gone and then moved next to Saga’s body. She looked at Absolem, who was fluttering and landing in random spots. “Whose side are you on?” He flew and landed on her shoulder. Absolem was more than just an engineered insect; he was a messenger. Jurati nodded at him a little bit, then turned to Saga. Looking away, she pulled Saga’s good eye out. “Go tell James and Picard that I’m on my way.”

The group of four started a small campfire outside of the ship for the night. Cecilia sat on the right side of the fire, Elnor and Narek sitting across from each other. For Cecilia, it was  _ extremely  _ awkward, especially as she tuned up her ukulele in near silence. Raffi knew immediately what was going on between the three of them, while Rios was more on the neutral side. Cecilia started strumming a couple of chords, thinking of a song she heard a long time ago, but everyone knew the lyrics. It was an incomplete song, according to its original artist. The song was “Hey, how you doing?” by Anne-Marie Choon. Taking this as a perfect opportunity, Cecilia started to sing:

Hey, how you doing?

Well, I’m doing just fine

I lied,

I’m dying inside

“Siete,” Rios cut her off. “Come on.”

“It’s not wrong,” she answered. “In fact, it fits the moment quite perfectly.

“Isn’t there anything a little more….I don’t know, positive?”

“You either get depressing or meaningful. Take your pick.”

“Let’s shoot for meaningful, then, even though I have a feeling that that’s going to be depressing, too.”

“Meaningful it is.” Cecilia strummed random chords, while staring into the fire, thinking of what song she could play. One popped into her head within seconds. “Dying in LA” by Panic! at the Disco. Meaningful, while a bit depressing, perfect, right? Cecilia formed the chords, starting to strum and sing:

Nights at the chateau,

trapped in your sunset bungalow

You couldn’t escape it

Riches all around,

you’re walking

Stars are all around,

you start to believe it

Every face along the

boulevard

Is a dreamer just

like you

You looked at death in a

tarot card

And you knew what you had

to do

But nobody knows you now,

when you’re dying in LA

And nobody owes you now,

when you’re dying in LA

When you’re dying in LA,

when you’re dying in LA

The power, the power, the

power

Oh, the power, the power,

the power

Of LA

Cecilia finished singing, but still continued to strum softly. Both of the Romulans had their eyes locked onto the Vulcan.

“That was beautiful,” Narek was the first to speak. Elnor narrowed his eyes at him. “Oh, and do you disagree? Was that not beautiful to your eyes and ears?”

“I will wholeheartedly agree that that was indeed beautiful, but I  _ don’t  _ trust you. Your sister murdered Hugh.”

“Good thing she didn’t come along, then.” Cecilia was still strumming, but she and Raffi shared knowing looks.

“I don’t like you.”

“No? How do you feel about Ganmadan? Because if we waste any more time fighting each other, we will all die, and then whether or not you like me will matter even less.” Cecilia had slowly been shrinking back, knowing that they were actually arguing over her. She hadn’t stopped strumming the ukulele, and probably wouldn’t stop soon.

“Wait, what’s Ganmadan?” Raffi asked, seeing Cecilia’s awkward demeanor. “What’s the story?”

“Exactly that. It’s a story,” the Vulcan answered. Both of the Romulans locked eyes on her, silently questioning how she knew that. “I used to study Romulan mythology at the Academy on the side.”

“It’s a story of the end,” Narek added.

“Of….?” Raffi questioned.

“Everything.”

“Like Ragnarok or Judgement Day,” Rios suggested. “An ancient myth.”

“Some say it dates back to a time before our ancestors first came to Vulcan,” Cecilia explained, still strumming the ukulele.

“Of course, let the bard explain,” Narek commented. Cecilia say Elnor’s eyes narrow, but continued to strum.

“The story of Ganmadan,” she started, “begins with two sisters. Twin khalagu.”

“Demons,” Elnor translated.

“Twin demons who come at the end of time to open a passage to unleash the ch’khalagu.”

“ _ Very  _ bad demons.”

“One sister is named Seb Natan, the Foreteller. She played a drum made from the skin of….well, children. She hits the drum with a chain made from skulls for so long and so hard that her heart bursts from the amount of effort and she dies. The other sister is Seb Cheneb. She carries a horn from a hellbeast creature thing called Ganmadan. When she blows through the horn, it will unleash all the ch’khalagu who have been waiting to be released from the beginning of time. The sky will crack, and the ch’khalagu will travel through that crack. There’s this thing called the Thousand Days of Pain that is set to result from these events. The streets will be infested with the remains of half-devoured corpses. All worlds will burn, the ch’khalagu will continue to devour and all organic life will be destroyed.”

“Do you really believe that this is a prophecy?” Raffi asked Narek, after a few seconds of silence had passed.

“No,” he answered. “I believe it’s history. And the phenomenal thing about history is that it  _ always  _ repeats itself.” Everyone went quiet almost immediately. Cecilia had even stopped her strumming. After about a full minute of silence, Cecilia started to strum again, singing:

Hey, how you doing?

Well, I’m doing just fine

I lied,

I’m dying inside

“Siete,” Rios cut her off. Cecilia shrugged, but still continued to strum, despite the continued verbal silence.

Everyone was mostly asleep not too long after sharing “campfire stories”, except for Cecilia. She couldn’t sleep. Too many things worried her. The Vulcan wandered away from the ship; just heading out into the sand and dirt. She knew she wouldn’t be able to reach the android sanctuary in time to do anything useful. It would completely screw up any basis of a plan that the group could come up with. A greater part of her was unsure of which direction she was supposed to go. Cecilia truly believed that she was destined to always be by Picard’s side throughout this personal mission. Now that she wasn’t, Cecilia wasn’t completely sure where she belonged. She still didn’t  _ fully  _ know who she was. One of her former Starfleet professors had told her that maybe there was a single star in space for each person alive in the universe; an uncountable number. Where was Cecilia’s star? What would it determine about her? Hesitantly, Cecilia placed her walking stick against a nearby rock. She pulled out a small, opaque nylon cloth, tying it around her head, covering her eyes. She was going to try a routine that she hadn’t tried in four years. Taking a deep breath, she put her earbuds in, beginning to play “Higher Love” by Kygo and Whitney Houston. Whitney Houston was one of her favorite singers since Cecilia had first begun listening to music. Following the beat, the Vulcan began to dance beautifully. She was in perfect unison with song, allowing her long-suppressed talent to bleed through. Even though Cecilia could see nothing, she  _ felt  _ everything; every note pulsed through her veins, every tone coursed through her blood. The song was almost at its second verse, when Cecilia’s knee started to give out. She could feel herself beginning to slip. Before she hit the ground, she felt someone’s hands around her, keeping her from falling.

“Dance,” a familiar voice whispered in her ear. She continued to dance, unafraid to fall. Cecilia knew she would be caught, never to hit the ground again. Their perfect chemistry held them together, guiding their swift movements. Cecilia reached for the sky, and it might as well have gathered all the stars into her possession. Beautiful wasn’t a description that would do this moment justice. It was just so  _ natural.  _ Everything came to a stop, as the music faded. Although she was still blindfolded, Cecilia knew that her dance partner’s eyes were locked onto her. His hands were by her waist, but also enveloped around her in an embrace. A  _ protective  _ embrace. Cecilia’s hands were at his shoulders. They moved up to the sides of his face. In a single movement, their mouths met and their lips locked. They pulled each other closer, tightening their embrace. His hair felt soft against Cecilia’s fingers. Elnor pulled off Cecilia’s blindfold, letting it fall to the ground.

“I waited fifteen years to see your face,” he whispered. “Please don’t cover it up.”

“I promise I’ll never do it again.”

“I am holding you to that promise.”

The two headed back to the ship, silently and hand in hand.

“I still would rather have you sleep with someone, and not on your own,” Elnor told her, as they entered the ship. “I do not trust our new ‘friend’.”

“Narek won’t do anything,” Cecilia answered. “I’m still of some value to him. He’s probably plotting some grand scheme to eventually turn against us. I’m counting on it and I’m ready for when he does.” Cecilia’s hand shifted to the small phaser at her side.

“Be careful.”

“I will be.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Cecilia waited until she saw Elnor enter his room and the doors closed.

“Quite the night for the two of you, I imagine,” a familiar voice said from behind her. Even though the voice was indeed familiar, it still startled her.

“Damn you, Narek,” the Vulcan responded, turning around. The Zhat Vash agent was leaning cooly against the wall, somewhat covered in darkness.

“Oh, no, I believe that damning me is the last thing you want.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

“Is that truly what you’ve been doing throughout your travels? Prancing around during the night with the Qowat Milat and-”

“His  _ name  _ is Elnor. And I already know what you’re implying. Don’t be so perverted. Elnor and I have a mutual respect for each other, something you lack.”

“Something  _ I  _ lack? You lack much of a respect for anyone.”

“That’s not true.”

“Oh, really? Then who do you respect? Who would you take orders from without question? Who would you hold to the highest possible esteem?”

“Picard,” she answered.

“And why would that be? Simply because he knew your mother?” Cecilia narrowed her eyes, starting to go on high alert.

“How did you know that? I never told you anything about my mom.”

“You think that Vanessa Williams isn’t known by almost every Romulan that still walks? She’s infamous. The infiltration of our bases, destruction of our weapons manufacturers, so-called ‘diplomatic arrangements’ aboard the Enterprise D, you think we would not know her? You’re smart, Cecilia, you should have seen it so much earlier.”

“Don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t know.”

“There it is, you’re always so damn defensive.”

“I’m not Soji, Narek, get that through your head.”

“Is that what this is about? You’re still angry at the fact that I had my attention on Soji, compared to having it on you.”

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ tell me how I feel. You know nothing about me. You don’t know anything except what your next move will be. You don’t care about anything or anyone.”

“That’s not true.”

“Like hell, it’s not. You pretended to care about Soji to get her to trust you. You pretended to care about  _ me  _ to get information. Who  _ do  _ you care about, Narek? You played the only two people that gave a damn about you and the only two people  _ you  _ claimed to care about.”

“Accept it, Cecilia, you’re just angry that the first person you’ve had romantic interest in happened to be  _ me _ . Her eyes narrowed to a dangerous stance. For a few seconds, it felt as if Cecilia lost control of her body. In a swift movement, she had reached behind her and grabbed her little ukulele. At first, Narek thought she was actually going to hit him with it, and he wouldn’t have blamed her if she did. Instead, she started strumming, but it was fast and furious, basically radiating an aura of red. When she started to sing, her voice wasn’t the delicate and sweet tone that she had used around the campfire. No, it was much more….emotional and  _ raw _ .

I’m not angry anymore,

Well, sometimes I am

I don’t think badly of you,

Well, sometimes I do

It depends on the day

The extent of all my 

worthless rage

I’m not angry anymore

I’m not angry,

I’m not totally angry

I’m not all that angry anymore.

She concluded with a firm, final strum, letting it ring. There was a moment of silence between them. Cecilia’s face remained unchanged, stern and still. There were multiple decisions Narek could’ve made in that short frame in time, but he did not choose particularly wisely. He stepped closer to the Vulcan and moved to allow their lips to meet, but received a stinging sensation spreading throughout the side of his face in return. He and Cecilia never broke eye contact. His expression was rather shocked and surprised, but hers still hadn’t changed. She shoved past him, entering her room. Narek heard the door lock. He spoke, but a part of him regretted it.

“Goodnight.”

Night passed and the sun rose, continuing into the day. The group gathered around, laying out all the details of their plan. Narek opened the bag of grenades that he had brought from the Artifact.

“Molecular solvent grenades,” he stated, holding one up. “Short fuse. Push button, throw. Intended for the orchids, but now the transmitter is our target of opportunity.”

“Seems simple enough,” Cecilia answered, taking the one he was holding and looking it over.

“Wait, hold on,” Raffi cut in. “How exactly are we getting back into Synthville?”

“Through the front door.”

“And how will we do that?”

“By bringing back the Romulan secret agent that killed one of their own, their beloved Saga.” Rios and Elnor glanced at each other for a second. The pilot’s eyes drifted to Cecilia, but Elnor’s eyes moved back to Narek.

“I still don’t like you.”

“How are we going to destroy the transmitter?” Cecilia asked, avoiding everyone’s gaze.

“A single, concentrated blast attack. Remote detonation.”

“Sounds like we needa drone to hide it. The grenade itself is dormant until activated, completely safe. However, it  _ is  _ metal, so the container would need to be, what, like, carbon fiber? Clay, ceramic?”

“And with the transporter block the synthetics have in place, we can’t beam anything in or out.”

“That’s why we need to conceal it.” She glanced over her shoulder for a second, but something quickly caught her eye. Rios had a small box of soccer balls off in the corner. She remembered that he occasionally liked to play. “Hey, what about those?”

James turned in his desk chair, hearing the lock on the door be disabled. He looked up, ready for Soji to walk in. He had been preparing himself if she came back. There was a lot he wanted to say. The Vulcan stood up in surprise when he saw Jurati enter the room, Absolem floating gracefully above her. She flicked something to the ground, but James didn’t look to see what it was.

“What the hell is this?” he questioned.

“I’m-” Jurati cut herself off, seeing Picard resting motionlessly on James’s bed. “Admiral Picard? Is-is….are-”

“Still here,” Picard replied, his tone monotone with hints of slight sarcasm.

“They’re about to power up the beacon,” the scientist continued to explain, letting the butterfly land on her shoulder. “We have to hurry.”

“What is this?” Picard asked, not believing her.

“It’s a rescue,” James replied. “If it was a trick, Absolem would let me know.”

“I honestly thought that I was the worst secret agent ever, but I’m starting to think I may have a gift,” Jurati commented with a smile, as Picard moved up from the bed.

“Where are we going?”

“Back to  _ La Sirena _ .” James looked to Picard.

“What the hell is that?”

“The ship that brought us here,” the Admiral answered.

“We have to go while they’re still distracted,” Jurati urged. James reached his hand straight to the butterfly on the doctor’s shoulder, letting it perch on him. The Vulcan gave the butterfly a small lift into the air towards the open window.

“We have a scout. Absolem will help us out. Let’s go.” They all started to move towards the door. “Wait, why is there an eye on the floor?”

The group’s plan worked perfectly to a T. They successfully infiltrated Synthville with their explosives hidden away. The beacon was almost complete.

“The beacon’s almost active,” Cecilia told them. She had a slightly better view than the rest of them from where she was standing. “We need a clearer line of sight. We can’t do anything from here. There’s a superluminal tuner at the base.”

“How can we get up there without being seen?” Raffi asked.

“An excellent question,” Soong’s familiar voice spoke from behind them. Within a swift and nearly unseen movement, the red haired Vulcan had a small knife in her hand in a defensive position. Soong had his hands up in surrender. There was a tense pause, until a little blue figure landed on Soong’s shoulder. Absolem. Cecilia put the knife away after a few more seconds.

“Then answer it.”

The new trio hiked back to the no longer wrecked  _ La Sirena _ . It seemed to be deserted when they entered.

“They must’ve gone looking for us,” Jurati stated.

“And hopefully they have my sister with them,” James added, taking Cecilia’s seat at the controls.

“We’ll worry about all that later. Status report on the Romulans,” Picard ordered. James and Jurati both pulled up everything they could based on their current instructions.

“Seven minutes from planetfall,” the Vulcan answered.

“Any sign of Starfleet?”

“No, but even if they got your message, they’d still be behind the Romulans,” Jurati told him.

“I know the message got through. Starfleet or at least  _ someone  _ will be on their way. We just have to give them some time,” James replied adamantly.

“Wait, let’s think this through. Say we  _ do  _ find a way to hold off the Romulans and we save Soji and everyone. Now she and the golden children are free to call up the ultimate synths, and then vapor and ash. A galaxy wide biocidal occurrence.”

“Well, clearly, we have to stop them too!” Picard shot back.

“They’ve left us behind, Picard. They’re  _ generations  _ beyond us.”

“In one sense, yes. However, as you said, they’re still children and until now the only teachers they’ve had are a couple of hermits.” Jurati looked straight at James, who looked kind of hurt from that.

“But I’m not a-” he started to argue.

“ _ Excluding  _ you! They have no experience of the world and hold a great fear of extermination. Fear is an incompetent teacher. They all have life, but no one is teaching them what that life is for. To be alive is a responsibility and a right.”

“How are they supposed to learn that lesson in….six minutes and fourteen seconds?” Jurati questioned.

“The way that children learn most things.” Picard took Rios’s seat, pulling up the main manual controls. “By example. Now, let’s see how closely I was watching Rios.” The ship was powered up and in the air within seconds. “There we go.”

“Make it so,” Jurati told him, a small smile on her face. James and the Admiral looked straight at each other.

“Admiral, I think she’s a keeper.”

Back in Synthville, the beacon was still under minimal construction. Sutra was giving a speech about what was going to happen next.

“Brothers and sisters,” she started, “as soon as the beacon is at its full capacity, we will begin to transmit. Once the signal is received, a portal will open and our saviors will be here almost instantaneously. And we’ll then be free.” During this speech, Soong, Raffi and Elnor had subtly joined the rest of the crowd. Soji was continuing to work on the beacon. Rios was hidden by a ledge, where he wouldn’t be seen. Narek and Cecilia were hidden above, where they also couldn’t be seen, but they could see everyone. They watched Soong lead Sutra off to the side, which was all part of the plan. He would confront her and take her out of the picture. Cecilia and Narek had to hold onto each other to keep themselves from falling straight down.

“I hope this’ll work, too,” Narek’s voice filled the green eyed Vulcan’s mind. She knew she had to have been the one who accidentally connected a mental link between the two of them. She had been wishing to herself that all would go as planned.

“Why? So you, in return, can just turn against us?” she replied, still using the mental link.

“No. For your sake. I want you to survive. Maybe then, we’ll see each other again.”

“And what for, Narek? There’s nothing holding us together.” He leaned his head closer to her, placing a small kiss on the side of her head.

“Maybe one day you’ll see that a part of me does love you.”

“Hmm, it’s a nice thought. Maybe one day you can make all of this up to me.”

“We’ll see.” They looked back down to the crowd below them. Raffi put two fingers to her mouth and let out a clear whistle, giving them their signal. Rios flipped over the ledge, landing on his feet. Narek and Cecilia dropped to the ground, starting to physically attack the synthetics around them. The Vulcan was grateful that they were working on concrete, solid ground. She wouldn’t have to worry about her knee giving out, which was something she couldn’t afford. Rios was the one who was keeping an eye on Soji, who was still working to send out the transmission to the demons from hell.

“Come on,” he whispered to himself. “Move, mija, move.”

_ La Sirena  _ took off from the planet and had exited the atmosphere.

“So, how do we hold off 218 warbirds until Starfleet gets here?” Jurati questioned. “If they get here.” No one answered her question. “Are you not answering to build suspense, or….?” James knew exactly what kind of answer she was going to receive.

“At the present moment, Doctor Jurati,” Picard began to respond, “I am trying to pilot a starship for the first time in a  _ very  _ long time, without exploding or crashing! If that is alright with you.”

“No, totally, good call.”

“One impossible thing at a time,” James commented. The half-Vulcan was scared, in all honesty. He had never piloted a starship, either.

It didn’t take long for the synthetics to restrain Narek and Cecilia. Narek was pinned to the ground and struggling, while Cecilia’s arms were being held tightly behind her, to the point that it was almost painful.

“Soji, please!” Narek shouted. “You don’t have to do this! You’re making a mistake!” His shouts had caught her attention, making her turn towards him. Rios activated the device they had created that would destroy the beacon. It shot towards the control panel within the blink of an eye, until Soji caught it without even flinching. She threw it into the air, letting it explode above everyone’s heads. “Soji!” The other synthetics began to drag Narek away.

“No!” Cecilia shouted out. She tore her arm free from restraint, reaching to grab Narek’s hand that was outstretched to her. Their hands latched together for a few seconds, but to no avail. Narek was still being dragged away from her, and there was nothing she could do to prevent it. The Vulcan forced herself to connect a mental link, even though speeding through the process would result in a massive migraine later on. Narek could also feel the link, but he knew that it would be the last time they’d speak like this, if ever.

“It’s no use, Cecilia,” he thought to her. “This is it.” Cecilia knew she had to pick her words quickly. Narek was right,  _ this  _ was it. This was the only chance they had to admit anything to each other.

“Narek, I….I think I love you.” That was all she could think to tell him. It was the one thing that she hadn’t said straight out, but had instead tossed and turned in her mind for so many nights. She knew that Narek had done so much wrong, but there  _ was  _ still good in him.

“Thank you for making me feel again.” The mental link was terminated, and it was most likely to be permanent. Narek and Cecilia locked eyes for a few seconds, but it was long enough to sear a memory in both of their heads. It would be the last time the Romulan would ever see those green eyes that captivated him. The green eyes that had reeled him in. He would never see eyes like that again. He stared at them until he was out of their sight.

“Incoming warp signatures,” Jurati announced.

“Is it Starfleet?” James asked in response. He was answered when a Romulan Warbird came into their view, exiting warp speed. The other 217 Warbirds joined it only a few seconds later.

“Here come the orchids.”

“Let’s see how much time they can buy us,” Picard replied. The three of them knew that the orchids wouldn’t be enough to delay the attack long enough for things to be settled on the planet. The multi-colored ships were destroyed almost immediately, bursting into flames from each phaser hit.  _ La Sirena  _ was shaking, weaving in and out of the orchid debris.

“Now might be a good time to reveal the secret plan. Once the orchids are completely gone, there’ll still be 200 Romulan warships and only one of us. If you figure out a way to get us out of this, they’ll name it after you. Picard Maneuver. Wait, no, that’s a thing, actually, isn’t it? You made it look like the Enterprise was in two places at once.”

“It was the Stargazer,” James and Picard corrected in unison.

“It was a long time ago,” Picard added, not entirely focused on the conversation. “It would be useless against so many enemy vessels. We’d have to multiply the sensor images and then find some way to disperse them around us.”

“Yeah, how the hell do we do that?” James and Jurati both spied a device from Synthville. It ran simply on imagination, taking into account brain waves and hormonal changes.

“If only we had an overly-advanced fundamental field replicator with a neurocomic interface,” James said sarcastically. He turned in his seat, holding up the device. Images of his face and Jurati’s face were spread throughout the ship. “Doesn’t it work just perfectly?”

Soji noticed quickly that  _ La Sirena  _ was above the planet and fighting off warships. She pulled up a communications screen. Cecilia had a clear view of it. Picard’s face and the noises around him were projected onto the small screen.

“Picard, what are you doing?” Soji questioned.

“Soji, I want you to reconsider your present course of action and shut down the beacon.”

“You know that’s not going to happen.”

“I….have something that I want to give you and your people. And I hope it will change your mind.”

“And what’s that?”

“My life. Picard out.” The communications were shut down. Those words would ring through not only her head, but the Vulcan siblings’ and Jurati’s as well.

The orchids, by now, were only bits and pieces of debris, nothing more. Completely nonfunctional.  _ La Sirena  _ stood alone. The Warbirds’ green lights started turning on, signaling that they were powered up to fire.

“Ready?” Picard asked James, who held the overly-advanced device. “And they’ll all have warp signatures?”

“Positive,” the Vulcan answered.

“On my mark.” The ship drifted up to face the flagship of the Romulan fleet. “James, now! Now!” A few seconds later and over 200  _ La Sirena _ s appeared, as if they were coming out of warp.

“Yes!” James called out, grateful beyond anything that his overly-complicated invention actually worked. The other  _ La Sirena _ s started to fire. The joy was short lived, as the actual ship was hit, causing all of the images to disappear. The ship spun a couple of times, but steadied out. Jurati and James turned around to see a somewhat dazed look on Picard’s face, setting off red flags. “Admiral, are you okay?” Picard didn’t get a chance to answer. A beam shot up from the planet’s surface and opened what looked to be a flaming red and black hole in space. “My God.” The Romulan warships activated again, ready to sterilize the planet. James shut his eyes tight, fearing the sensation of a phaser exploding around him. He opened his eyes when he saw a flash of light pass over the darkness. Federation ships bearing the Starfleet logo began coming out of warp with their weapons ready. There had to be twice as many of them than Romulan ships.

“They’re here!” Jurati announced in joyful shock. “Admiral, you did it.”

The flagship for the fleet was being captained by none other than William Riker himself, of course. However, Riker wasn’t alone. A woman with pale skin, long red hair, ocean blue eyes and pointed Vulcan ears stood beside him.  _ Everyone  _ knew who she was. Especially Riker. He had watched her grow up, he had to take her with him. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Acting Captain Will Riker and acting Commander Vanessa Williams in command of the USS Zheng He. It is our duty to inform you that the United Federation of Planets has designated Planet Ghulion IV in the Vayt Sector as under the protection of Starfleet. According to the terms of the Treaty of Algeron.”

“Too late,” Commodore Oh, Starfleet’s former head of security, replied. “Our claim to this world takes precedence. Move aside.”

“I’m afraid not.” Riker pulled up the message that Vanessa had received. Vanessa’s face remained resting, but it was also rather unsettling. Oh knew of Vanessa, and exactly how much she’d go through for a cause. Vanessa was not a force to be underestimated. “General or Commodore, or whatever you call yourself, I am on the bridge of the most power ship Starfleet has ever put into service. And we have a fleet of them at our back. Our phasers are locked on your warp course. Nothing would make me happier than you giving us an excuse to kick your treacherous Tal Shiar ass. Instead, I’m going to ask you one time to stand down.”

“Retarget weapons systems. Prepare to fight.”

“Weapons hot, deflectors to full.”

Back on  _ La Sirena _ , the trio could only watch and fear the situation that was about to take place.

“Picard….?” Jurati called back. She and James turned around to see Picard holding a hand to his head, trying to suppress pain. The two young adults looked at each other, knowing exactly what was happening. They looked back to Picard.

“I know,” he answered. “I have to speak with Soji on an open channel.”

“You’re in no shape,” Jurati argued. James couldn’t find his voice to be able to speak, but tears swelled in his eyes. He thought he was prepared to handle loss, but he was far from it.

“Get me some polisinephrine. 20 cc.”

“No.”

“It will only hasten the inevitable. Do it.” Jurati moved to get the hypospray, obviously doing it against her will.

“Admiral….” James heard himself whisper.

“It’s alright,” Picard replied, as Jurati injected the hypospray. “Open the channel. Now.” James did as he was told, even though his eyes stung. He hated crying with a passion. It was seen as a weakness for men. He needed to be strong.

“Picard….” Soji began to say.

“Soji, please, power down the beacon. Show them how profoundly wrong they are about you. You’re not the enemy. You’re not the Destroyer. If that doesn’t convince them, then they will have to answer to the Federation.”

“The same Federation that banned us and threw us on the scrap heap?”

“If we wanted to destroy you, Soji, we would’ve joined forces with the Romulans. We would be training our phasers on you right now. We aren’t and we won’t. You know why? Because we trust you to make the right choice. I trust you, Soji. I know you. I believe in you. That’s why I saved your lives. So that you could save ours, in return. That’s the whole point. That’s why we’re here. To save each other.” There was a long pause that seemed to last for an eternity. Everyone heard that message. The Federation, the Tal Shiar, Synthville, everyone. Down on the surface, Soji slammed her hand into the machine, shutting off the communications. Shutting off everything. The beacon’s light faded away, and the flaming hole in space began to close. It was a victory for life, but it would soon be drowned in loss and defeat.

On the Zheng He, Riker and Vanessa received some brilliant news.

“Captain, it looks like the Romulans are standing down,” an Ensign told them.

“Excellent decision. Stand down from red alert. Now prepare to be escorted out of Federation space,” Riker said.

“That won’t be necessary,” Oh replied.

“Really, it’s not trouble at all.” The Romulan ships started exiting via warp, heading back to where they came from.

“I best be getting to my shuttle,” Vanessa told her friend.

“I expect a message to come get you when you’re ready to return.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you’ll get one.” The professor smiled at him. God, she never changed. Over so many long years, she never changed. 

“It’s good to see you again, kiddo.” Riker would never accept the fact that she was an adult. She would always be ‘kiddo’ to him. Nothing else. It was his nickname for her, just as she had her nickname for him.

“Right back at you, Rikee.”

As soon as Vanessa left the bridge, Riker contacted  _ La Sirena _ .

“Will,” Picard greeted with a smile. “How-”

“Once we received your SOS, I asked for temporary reassignment. Just because I didn’t try to talk you out of it, didn’t mean I was going to let go at it alone. I’m supposed to sit around in the woods making pizza while you have all the fun? Admiral Picard, I leave this situation in your capable hands, and I also leave you with a surprise that will be reaching the surface soon.”

“Thank you, Will, for always having my back.”

“I learned from the best.”

“I’ve got it from here.”

“I’ll see you around, my friend. Also, good to see you again, James.”

“Thanks, Uncle Rikee,” James answered, trying to put on his normal voice.

“Riker out.” The rest of the Federation ships exited the system, traveling through warp speed until they were out of sight. Picard raised a hand to his head again. He knew what was coming.

“Picard,” Jurati called. The Admiral moved to stand up, and began to collapse. James and Jurati were instantly at his side, both with tears in their eyes.

“It’s alright,” he whispered to them.

“Wait, what’s happening? What’s wrong with him?” Soji’s voice questioned over the monitor. Cecilia saw what was going on.

“No, no, no,” she started repeating. She pulled away from her restraints and ran to the monitor, almost pushing Soji out of the way. “James, talk to me. What the hell is happening? James?”

“His brain abnormality,” her brother replied. “He’s failing.”

“Can’t you get him to the med lab or a sick bay on one of your ships?” Soji asked, desperately.

“There’s no point, is there, Doctor?” Picard answered. Jurati shook her head.

“No.”

“I’m dropping the transporter block. I’ll beam you guys right here.” The three of them beamed down, with James moving out of the way, just to keep himself from breaking down. Cecilia ran over as fast as she could, reaching Picard’s side within just a few seconds. Her worst fears were coming true. She was about to lose the most important person in her life. No. Cecilia  _ needed  _ him. She couldn’t lose him now. They had come so far.

“Captain,” she said, desperate to stop what was happening. Her hair hung past her pointed Vulcan ears, illuminated by the sun. The sun acted as a spotlight to her every feature. Picard couldn’t help but think of how much she looked like an angel with a halo. But if Cecilia was an angel, she needed a pair of wings. He once thought the same thing about her mother.

“Cecilia,” Picard whispered in response. He took her hand in his.

“No, no,” she repeated, shaking her head. “Everything will be okay. You won’t….you can’t….” Cecilia was choking on her words, especially since she knew they weren’t true.

“Listen to me.” Picard’s hand tightened around hers. “Listen. Before I go, just listen. You can’t stop now. You have to keep going. Don’t let me bring a halt to your life.” Unshed tears flooded the Vulcan’s green eyes, making her vision become a blur.

“Please don’t leave me,” she whispered, a tear sliding slowly down her cheek. The droplet trembled, just as she did. Their friends gathered around them; Raffi on Cecilia’s right and Soji across from them. “ _ Please _ . I can’t do this without you.”

“Raffi,” Picard said, leaving Cecilia’s response unanswered.

“Yes, JL?” Raffi asked, her voice trembling.

“You were right.”

“About what? JL, about what?” Raffi didn’t receive an answer. Cecilia felt Picard’s hand begin to slowly release hers. The Vulcan immediately started shaking her head.

“No, no, no,” she continued to repeat. His hand fell from hers. The blur of her vision intensified as the tears that stung her eyes began to fall. Picard was gone. Cecilia’s hands began to shake as she started to cry. She didn’t know what to do. Elnor pulled her away from the body, even though she didn’t want to leave. He tried to pull her into a hug, but Cecilia shoved him away. She was out of sight within seconds. The person the two young adults held up so high on a pedestal was now gone, and neither of them knew what their next move was supposed to be.

Anyone who wasn’t in Synthville when the tragic events occurred learned of Picard’s death extremely quickly. Seven was in Synthville within a small amount of time. An idea, however, came up that was decided to be worth a chance.  While James and the others worked for a chance to save Picard, Cecilia stayed away from the buildings altogether. She went to the roof of what had been Narek’s prison cell, staring into the sun-lit horizon. There were too many things running through her mind, mostly about the past four years. Everything about the situation was internally killing Cecilia. She, however, wouldn’t let anyone see her cry. Not her brother, not Elnor, no one. She believed she had an ugly cry, and that wasn’t something she wanted people to see. Picard never wanted her to hide her emotions. It was something he hated seeing her mother do. Picard had wanted so much for her, but Cecilia didn’t know what she wanted. Was there anything she had really absorbed from the last four years? She didn’t know. Maybe she was like her mother; being the first and last of her kind. She couldn’t find someone who understood her or felt the same emotions she felt. Cecilia sighed, feeling a familiar presence approach her from behind.

“Not now, Mom,” she said, not turning around. Her mom didn’t respond, but sat down next to her. Cecilia felt a little awkward, sitting there in silence. It had been four years since she had seen her mom. This wasn’t the event she wanted to bring them together. The silence was broken, with Vanessa’s soft singing voice filling the air:

Someone told me

long ago

There’s a calm

before the storm

I know, it’s been

coming for some time

When it’s over, so

they say

It’ll rain a sunny day

I know, shining down

like water

It was at this point that Cecilia knew to jump in. Music was the one thing that would always bring the Williams family together, and certain songs, such as this one, had more meaning than others. It was Cecilia’s favorite song from the time she was little, but it was only now that she could understand a deeper meaning.

I wanna know, have you

ever seen the rain?

I wanna know, have you

ever seen the rain?

Coming down on a

sunny day?

Their voices concluded in musical unison, creating a perfect harmony that had been desired by composers, and envied by said composers. Nothing could explain their musical connection that would provide it justice. Finally feeling the weight of a thousand emotions, Cecilia let it go and began to cry. Vanessa pulled her daughter close, letting Cecilia hold onto her. The professor knew of all the events that had occurred, and knew of the events that were taking place.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Vanessa told her.

“No, it’s not, Mom. It’s anything but okay. He’s gone.”

“No one’s ever really gone. He’s still with you, Cecilia, as am I.”

“I needed him, Mom. I need him, and you, and Dad, and James and Juno and everyone! I don’t want to lose him.”

“Shh, it’s okay. Just cry it out. Don’t hold back. I know it’s rough, baby, but we’re going to get through this. I know it’s really hard, but he’s still with you. He’s still with all of us.”

“I need him  _ here _ , Mom. I need him here with all of us. Not just a presence or knowing that he’s here in spirit. I need him physically here because I’m not ready to let him go yet.”

“I know exactly how that feels, Cecilia. Trust me, I really do. I know it hurts.”

“I didn’t get the chance to make him proud of me like he was proud of you.”

“Cecilia, honey, do you know how long it took me to feel I finally did that?” Cecilia sniffled, shaking her head. “It took me a lifetime, but you know how long he was actually proud of me?”

“Your lifetime.”

“Yes. I didn’t realize it and you aren’t realizing it now. He’s always had….difficulty showing when he truly cares about someone. You might not think it, but you really have made him proud.”

“But I want to prove it to myself.”

“I know how that feels, too. I promise, Cecilia, everything’s going to end up okay. I really mean that.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do know that because we still have each other. No matter what happens, we’ll always have each other.”

“I don’t know what to do with my life, Mom. I have no clue what’s supposed to happen next.”

“You’ll know, Cecilia. You’ll know in your heart.” Cecilia only nodded in response, her tears turning to sniffles. It was Vanessa’s sign that Cecilia needed to be alone for a little bit. Vanessa took her hand away from her daughter’s shoulder and started heading back towards the ground. Cecilia didn’t really know what to do or how to feel. She didn’t feel that she had a decent voice, but she still started to softly sing:

She

She screams in silence

All her doubts were someone

else’s point of view

Waiting for a sign to

smash the silence

With the brick of self-

control

Are you locked up in

a world

That’s been planned

out for you?

Are you feeling like a

social tool without a use?

Scream at me until my

ears bleed

I’m taking heed

just for you

She

Cecilia’s voice was dry and she barely even had it under control. She was starting to cry again, choking on almost every breath she took. She pulled her knees to her chest and let herself sob until her throat hurt.

Vanessa walked around Synthville, making it her mission to talk to everyone that had been affected by the events that had occurred. Her daughter and son were already checked off the list. There was much on her mind, but she convinced herself that she had to keep an inner peace, unless things didn’t turn out the way she felt she would. She saw Rios and Seven sitting on a balcony, sharing a thin green bottle of who knows what type of alcohol.

“Then I win,” she heard Seven say to the pilot. Vanessa walked over silently, wearing shoes that made little to no sound. She placed her hand on Seven’s shoulder. “Hey, V.” The former Borg’s voice was rough and worn, exactly how everyone felt. Seven swung her legs back over and stood up. The two women stared at each other for a few seconds, but then broke into a hug.

“Thank you for taking care of my kids,” Vanessa whispered to her.

“Thanks for raising them to be good people.” The hug slipped apart. Seven started walking away, going to look for a stronger bottle of alcohol. The two women would probably talk on a deeper level later. Vanessa’s attention turned to Rios, who was staring out into the distance. She sat down next to him on the ledge. Rios looked at her for a second, but then drifted his eyes back out to the horizon.

“You’re Siete’s mom?” he asked her.

“I am,” she replied, knowing that he meant Cecilia. “I remember when you were a Starfleet cadet.”

“I never had you as a professor. I remember you being there at the Academy.”

“I know. You were always a good student. I think you’ve grown into an even better person.” Rios snickered in a sarcastic way.

“I know when people are just saying things to make other people feel better.” There was a pause, but Vanessa slowly placed her hand over Rios’s. In a flash, Rios saw various images, memories most likely, and he  _ felt  _ what she felt towards him. He knew everything from her mind. He took his hand away quickly, slightly startled at the sudden rush of sensations.

“I don’t lie to people, Captain Rios. Especially not at a time like this.”

“I see that.” A silence fell between them. There was nothing more that needed to be said. They knew all of the emotions and thoughts between each other. It was an understanding that was on an extremely deep level.

“Don’t change, Captain Rios. Make sure of it.” Vanessa placed a hand on his shoulder, as she swung her legs back to the side of the rail where the ground was, then standing up and walking away.

“Yes, ma’am.”

The professor’s mission continued, as she walked to the outskirts of Synthville to find Raffi sitting on a rock by herself. Raffi had obviously been crying, and Vanessa didn’t blame her. The Vulcan, however, had outside information about the current situation and how it would play out, which was why she herself wasn’t entirely in tears. If that information was wrong, on the other hand….

“Hey,” Vanessa greeted solemnly, matching Raffi’s expression.

“Hi.” The professor sat down next to her on the rock. It was quiet between the two of them for a few seconds. “How the hell do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Look so calm and collected when he….”

“I know some things. I have a very strong feeling that something will work out.”

“How do you know, Vanessa? You’re not God.”

“You’re right, I’m not. Just, some things I know. I know them and I focused on them enough that I find a bit of an inner peace. It gives me something to hold onto.”

“Like Cecilia,” Raffi replied with a worn snicker, laced with a hint of sarcasm.

“Where do you think she got it from?” The silence fell upon them again.

“I could never be like the two of you.”

“In what way?”

“So confident in something that has such a great chance of not happening.”

“Oh, no, this isn’t Cecilia and me. This is all just what I know. Cecilia’s not taking this well, and I don’t blame her.”

“And if you’re wrong?” Vanessa shrugged in response. “I don’t know either, Vanessa. I wish to God someone did.”

“We used to not wish that.”

“I know. And look where it landed us. We had it all, then most, then some, and now none.”

“It was like that from the beginning. The relocation, Mars, the Romulan Conspiracy-”

“That you dipped out on.”

“I didn’t dip out. I went undercover.”

“And where did the rest of us end up?”

“Right here, Raffi. It didn’t matter what happened to all of us fifteen years ago. We all ended up right here. You, me, my kids, your new crew, all of us landed right here in the exact same spot.” A silence fell between them. It was the type of silence that was uncomfortable, yet necessary at the same time. “We’ve both been searching for new trails to follow. This one, Raffi, is yours. I can  _ feel  _ it. This is your path, and I’ve found mine.” Vanessa stood up, not angrily, but rather to conclude the conversation. Elnor would come up to where Raffi was sitting just a few minutes after Vanessa left. The Romulan and the Vulcan would meet later, but at that moment, Elnor needed a comforting shoulder, which would be Raffi’s responsibility.

Narek’s holding cell was much darker than the one in Synthville. He was being held on the shuttle that would take Vanessa to her rendezvous point, only a few minutes away from the settlement. The cell was being guarded by two Starfleet officers, and there were another two in the cockpit area. All of them were under orders to remain there until the professor gave them orders otherwise.

Vanessa entered the ship, still holding the orders to stay where they were, and traveled to the little cell. She walked into the cell, which was dimly lit. Narek was sitting on the ground, not bothering to look up at her. She sat down on the floor directly in front of him, about six feet away. They were facing each other, but Narek was hesitant to look up.

“Hi,” she greeted with a smile. The Romulan immediately noticed that her accent was much more prominent than Cecilia’s. They looked more like sisters than mother and daughter.

“Hello….?” he answered, unsure of what game Vanessa was going to play.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Somewhat.”

“I’m Cecilia’s mom. My name is Vanessa Williams.”

“My name’s Narek.”

“I know. Cecilia told me. She told me a lot about you. I know that you’re part of the Zhat Vash and that most of the events that have recently taken place have occurred because of you, which has landed you here, in prison.”

“Congratulations, you found me out,” Narek replied sarcastically and worn out. He was physically, mentally and emotionally tired. Vanessa, of course, knew this from her mental ability. She smiled at him.

“No, I didn’t. Cecilia did. She made it clear that there’s a side to you beyond all of this. I don’t think you enjoy it. Being a Zhat Vash, killing whoever, no. There’s a part of you deep inside that’s bothered by it.” There was a pause between them. “I want to make you an offer.”

“Tell me.”

“I can keep you out of prison.”

“A deal that consists of…?”

“Currently, I teach as a professor for Starfleet. For many years, I was one of their higher ranking officials with seniority. Starfleet owes me a favor, and this will be it. You stay out of prison, but you stay with my family and me under a lenient house arrest. I can show you aspects of life that the Zhat Vash will never speak of. You can prove that you are no longer a threat. And it would give you the highest chance of ever seeing Cecilia again.” Narek slightly picked his head up at the thought of seeing his Vulcan ‘friend’ again. He had spent all this time convincing himself that she was gone now.

“I don’t believe you,” he finally spoke.

“If I wasn’t serious, why would I bring my daughter into this?”

“For leverage and a particularly low blow.” Vanessa thought to herself, knowing that this wasn’t going to be an easy task. She was hesitant to use her mental ability, but she didn’t seem to have any easier methods.

“Is it okay if I touch you?” she asked. Narek cocked an eyebrow, suddenly uncomfortable about how many ways that question could go. “Just on your face or your hand and it would only last for a few seconds.”

“I’m not….I….” Knowing the Romulan wouldn’t be able to make up his mind quick enough, Vanessa leaned forward and placed her finger in between his eyes. Narek was suddenly met with flashes of memories in his mind that weren’t his own. The first flash was of a young Vulcan that looked like Cecilia, but with blue eyes. It was Vanessa. She was smiling. The next few flashes were of happy moments in Vanessa’s life, as she continued to age into adulthood. He saw her memories of her bringing her children into her house as infants. He felt everything she felt in those moments. All of her emotions. It was beyond overwhelming. It was terrifying. Vanessa took her finger away. Narek’s expression was of complete shock and terror, unable to understand everything he had just witnessed. He stared straight at Vanessa. He couldn’t seem to find any of the words he wanted to say. The professor smiled at him a little.

“That’s what I’m offering you, Narek. It isn’t a low blow or leverage or anything like that. You would be treated no differently than I would treat either of my kids.”

“W-Why?” he stuttered. “Why would you do this for me? For anyone?”

“Because I believe that everyone deserves a second chance at life. You just haven’t been given one until today. Many, many years ago, I was facing a double life sentence in Federation prison. I was fifteen. At the time, Jean-Luc Picard was captain of Starfleet’s flagship, the Enterprise. He invited me onto the ship and offered me a second chance. It would expunge my record and give me a place back in Starfleet. Over the years, I’ve worked my way up to the position of Admiral and Professor. I can expunge your record, Narek. I can give you the same second chance. There’s always a returning point. Let me lead you there.” There was a long pause between the two of them. Narek had the chance to change everything, to make up for his past and the terrible things he’d done. The Zhat Vash would never have accepted such weakness. It would have resulted in death or exile, death being the more merciful of the two, “Narek, do you trust me?” Vanessa held out her hand to him. This was the only opportunity he would ever receive. This moment would decide the rest of his life.

“Okay.”

The professor returned to the settlement very soon after her discussion and received the news of success from her son. Picard’s brain, knowledge, and everything had been moved into the golem that Soong had built. The golem would allow Picard to live the amount of time he would have been expected to without the brain anomaly. Vanessa was right in believing that everything would be alright. Cecilia would learn this soon after her mother, but that would come later. The professor needed to talk to her former captain urgently.

Picard, on the other hand, had become aware of his transfer once he regained consciousness. Life had been restored to him, and he didn’t have the fear of being immortal, either. He could never repay Soong and James, but they knew that he was forever grateful.

“There’s someone waiting for you,” James told the Admiral, motioning towards the hallway closest to them. The newly revived man followed where he was pointed to. Picard slowly opened the door to one of the spare rooms. He still wasn’t sure who was waiting for him. Maybe Elnor? Cecilia? He didn’t know. When he entered, he saw the figure of a woman standing by the window. She was leaning on the desk, with the peculiar and familiar butterfly named Absolem resting on her finger. The sunlight was so focused on her, to the point that it made her look like a silhouette.

“Did you know that, on Earth, there’s over twenty thousand species of butterflies?” she asked, Absolem slowly opening and closing his wings.

“I’m sorry, you look very familiar. Who are you?” Picard asked in return. Absolem flew off the woman’s finger, then flying towards the Admiral.

“I’m surprised you don’t recognize my voice,” she replied. She turned around and smiled at him. He could now see her vibrant red hair, and her blue eyes that stood out against it. Her skin was pale, as it always had been. “Hello, Captain,” she greeted in a soft and sweet voice. Picard just stared at her, taking in the fact that it wasn’t a dream.

“Vanessa….?” he finally brought himself to say. Vanessa smiled at him again, her face brightening. She looked exactly how she did in his dream. “Look at you, you’re still so young. What are you doing here?” Picard wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms. She seemed happy and she was still so beautiful to him. Her eyes drifted up to Absolem fluttering above them.

“Twenty thousand species of butterflies and  _ that  _ is not one of them, but it definitely suits you,” she replied.

“What do you mean?”

“The butterfly doesn’t come from Earth, but it’s unique in it’s own way, like you.” She slowly approached him. Vanessa wasn’t wearing the blue dress that she had been wearing in his dream. She was wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt, which had oversized, baggy sleeves. It was so much more her style. It was how he remembered her.

“I think that’s a good way to put it.”

“I’ve really missed you.”

“As have I.” Vanessa would never truly know how much he missed her. It was a feeling beyond words or comprehensible explanation. She smiled at her former Captain again, then stepping forward and hugging him. She felt it too; the feeling of missing someone, of loss.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” she told him, relieved to have Picard back with her for the first time in almost twenty years. He couldn’t even think of words to respond with. “Cecilia told me what happened. She was a complete mess, so I got here as quickly as I possibly could.”

“I’m so sorry,” he told her. Sorry wasn’t the word he wanted to use. He wanted to use something with more meaning, a deeper meaning, but he didn’t know such a word. “I’m so so sorry.”

“It’s okay, now. You’re okay now, so everything else settled out.” Neither of them were very sure about who she was trying to reassure. Picard was the one who broke their embrace.

“It’s been almost twenty years since I’ve seen you, and in that time, I’ve wanted to tell you so many things, but now that you’re here, I can’t even form enough thoughts to start talking about it all.” Vanessa smiled at him in a way that almost made him want to break down and cry. It was a smile he knew all too well. She knew everything he was feeling at that moment, due to her empathic ability.

“Tell me,” she replied softly.

“Cecilia and James are just….you should be so proud, Vanessa.”

“I am. It’s even more shocking to believe that I’m not just a mother anymore, I’m also a grandmother. It’s so amazing. I’m very proud of James.”

“You should be just as proud of Cecilia. She did exactly what you told her to. She searched for six months until she found me all because you told her to.”

“That was four years ago.”

“I know. She’s stayed with me this entire time.”

“What does it feel like?”

“It’s like you all over again, but with….a somewhat rougher edge.” Vanessas smiled at him again.

“You could say that.”

“She’s a difficult person to figure out.”

“Have you?”

“I think so.”

“Tell me about her, then.”

“She’s just a lot like you.” Vanessa’s smile was beginning to fade. She sent Cecilia to Picard not just as an opportunity for her daughter, but for her former Captain, as well. Cecilia, it seemed, had taken the opportunity, but Picard didn’t realize it was truly there.

“What’s her favorite color?”

“What?” Picard was confused, as he didn’t understand why Vanessa was asking him such a simple, yet strange, question.

“What’s Cecilia’s favorite color?”

“Yellow.”

“No. It’s green.” Green. He should have known that. “What’s her favorite instrument?”

“Piano.”

“Violin. What’s her favorite band?”

“Green Day,” he immediately answered. “It was your mother’s favorite, as well.”

“What’s her favorite song?”

“Something from Green Day.”

“Have you ever seen the rain, by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Her second choice is She by Green Day. What was her major when she was in Starfleet?”

“Engineering.”

“Dance. Engineering was her minor. She wanted to be part of the official Starfleet show choir.” Picard was quiet. He knew nothing about Cecilia. If anything, he should have immediately known her favorite color and her major. The major that meant so much to her, at one point in time. He had just assumed her to be exactly like her mother, which was one of his greatest mistakes. Vanessa knew all of this within the course of a few seconds, only because of her ability. “The reason I sent her to you was not just for her benefit, but yours too. A healing for both of you. She’s a fragile young woman who has no idea what she’s doing out here in the galaxy. She’s driven by the need to fix a mistake she made, when in reality Cecilia needs to heal herself from the mistake, instead of trying to undo it. You, on the other hand, keep trying to fix the galaxy’s mistakes because you believe that they are your own. You need to realize that it’s not all on your shoulders. You need to heal yourself, not everyone else. Cecilia needs you, and you need her, even though you don’t realize it yet. Get to know her. Treat her as you treated me when we first met. You tried to pry into my personal life so that you could pull out what needed to resurface.”

“I know all of this, Vanessa. Truly, I do, but there is one thing I have learned. Cecilia is  _ not  _ you. She’s not you and she’s not your mother, either. I’ve been using the same technique for two people who had an idea of what their plans are for life. Cecilia doesn’t have a clue, as you said. I want to show her everything she could become.”

“Then do it. I’ve given enough second chances today, it’s time for you to give it a try. Not just for learning about Cecilia, but for your own personal growth, as well. I don’t care how old you may be, you still have some learning to do.” Picard smiled at her, knowing that Vanessa wanted nothing more than the best for the people she loved.

“I’ll take that as an order, Admiral,” he replied.

“That’s Professor to you. And you still have another person to talk to.” Vanessa moved to walk out of the room.

“Vanessa, wait. I have a question. What happened to the boy that caused Cecilia’s knee injury?” The professor turned back.

“I beat his ass,” she answered. The Admiral chuckled, believing that she was joking.

“Tell me the truth.” Vanessa’s face relaxed a little bit more into a straight and serious expression.

“I beat his ass,” she repeated. If the sound of one’s voice could kill, anyone it was projected towards would have dropped to the floor. “He will never have a chance to rise in Starfleet again.” The Vulcan exited the room, leaving the Admiral with a knowledge that he wasn’t sure if he wanted.

Although it was a delayed reception, Cecilia didn’t have to be told about what had happened; she just knew. Her ability sent her a clear message. She knew exactly what James, Soji, Soong and Jurati had accomplished. Cecilia sprinted through the halls, not letting anyone or thing get in her way. She passed her mother, who leaned against a wall with a small smile on her face. Vanessa knew that Picard now had a different perspective of Cecilia, and it would affect them for the better. Just as it had her, all those years ago. Cecilia just had to keep her head up. Vanessa smiled, remembering a song she used to know, “Keep Your Head Up Princess” by Anson Seabra. The lyrics used to fit her, but now it had been passed down to her daughter:

So keep your head up

princess

Before your crown falls

All these voices in your

head will be your downfall

I know it gets so hard

but you don’t got far to go

Cecilia swung around a corner, then skidding to a stop. A figure she knew all too well stood in a group consisting of James, Jurati, Soji and Soong, facing away from her. The figure was dressed in white. Seeing the gazes of the others in the group shift, he turned around, revealing his face to the young woman before him. They locked their green eyes for a few moments. Cecilia broke their lock and rushed into Picard’s arms. It was an embrace beyond words. It was a deeper connection than could ever be explained or understood. The only one who knew exactly what it was like was Vanessa. She, at one time, had been exactly in Cecilia’s position before.

Keep your head up

princess

It’s a long road

And the path leads right

to where they won’t go

I know it hurts right now,

but I know you’ll make it home

So keep your head up

Vanessa walked away from the reunion with a bittersweet smile, knowing that there wouldn’t be yet another chance for Picard to cheat life. He had already done it multiple times. Death was a being that could be cheated, but never escaped.

“Mrs. Williams,” a voice called from behind her, making the Vulcan turn around. Soji approached her. “I’m Soji.”

“I know.”

“Cecilia told me a lot about you and I guess I just really wanted to meet you.”

“Oh really? I hope it was all good things that you were told about me.”

“She told me about how you help people and you’re very accepting.” Soji looked as if she wanted to say more, but she let her voice trail off.

I heard about your mom, Soji. My son told me what happened,” Vanessa answered, making a highly educated guess as to what Soji was thinking. Soji and Dahj’s ‘mom’ was actually an advanced A.I. The professor also didn’t have access to using her ability, as it wouldn’t work on an android. It was the same on Nepenthe, when Deanna couldn’t read Soji’s emotions, either. “After going through a very very long time of being treated as a child, and then growing up to have two kids of my own, I learned how important it is for a person to have their mom. My mom passed away when I was young.”

“I’m not really sure what I was thinking.”

“Soji, if you ever need someone, I’m reachable on almost any subspace channel. You wouldn’t believe how many have been reserved just for me from Starfleet, the Federation, some allies and resources, everywhere. I know exactly what you’re looking for, and if you want someone to fill that void, I will gladly be that person. You just have to say the word.” Soji looked at the professor for a few seconds, but then made a move that Vanessa expected. Soji hugged her, and Vanessa returned it. The Vulcan knew exactly how Soji was feeling, and it was something that Vanessa herself had wished for too, once upon a time.

“Thank you,” Soji whispered. Vanessa broke their hug.

“I’ll be expecting a message from you, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Cecilia’s lucky to have you as a friend. Take care of each other for me and both of you can send me messages at any time.”

“We will. I promise, we’ll both make sure to be careful and to check in all the time.” Vanessa smiled at her warmly.

“Good. Now, there’s two more people I need to check in with. Would you happen to know where Elnor, I believe that’s his name, may be?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him lately.”

“I see.”

The Vulcan walked around for a little while, searching for the Romulan. There was a high level emotional disturbance from him that she needed to address. She couldn’t ignore a disturbance like that. It wasn’t healthy for anyone and she couldn’t allow it to potentially overtake his mind. She was staring out the full length windows that lined the hallway she was walking down. She was so focused on the scenery outside that she didn’t even realize that someone had passed her. They too had been preoccupied with their thoughts. Vanessa’s mental ability is what alerted her that she had been passed. She immediately stopped in her tracks and turned around, catching sight of Elnor’s long and dark hair. She projected a small disturbance with her ability, causing Elnor to also stop and turn around. Vanessa examined him, thinking about everything she knew from Cecilia.

“Elnor,” she spoke quietly, just loud enough for him to hear her. He nodded slightly in response.

“You’re Cecilia’s mother.”

“Yes, I am. She’s told me a lot about you.” There was a pause between their words. Neither was completely sure how to approach the other. Vanessa thought for a moment, finding some words to say. “You know, if we weren’t just citizens, but rather ensigns or commanders on starships, I believe that I would know exactly what to say. I give the same message to cadets over and over again, every year with every class I get. Classes full of students even around your age and I preach to them of exploring and discovering themselves, knowing what the galaxy holds for them. But they have no idea what’s out there. You do. You’ve seen more than they have or will. You might not even know you’ve seen it, but deep in your mind I can see that you know it. I see a very bright future heading your way, Elnor.”

“There’s much I don’t know. Some things I’ve only heard of in stories. I don’t know what you see.”

“Do you trust me?” Elnor nodded in response. Even though he had just met Vanessa, he knew he could trust her with every bit of his existence. “Then believe me when I tell you that the universe has big plans for you. Follow the path your heart takes you on.”

“How will I know if it’s the right path?”

“Trust yourself. You’ll know. Remember, I’m always in contact. I’ll have James give you my protected subspace channel. Only one in the galaxy that works no matter where you are. If any trouble comes up, give me a call.”

“I will.” Vanessa started to walk away, but turned back for just a second more.

“By the way, Cecilia loves the color green, flower meadows, sunsets and training sessions.” Vanessa winked, sending a message that Elnor was both grateful for and slightly embarrassed by. The Vulcan smiled back at him and walked away.

Vanessa went back to where everyone else was gathered around the newly revived Picard. The Admiral’s gaze drifted past everyone around him and settled on Vanessa. He smiled when he saw her. She returned the smile, but it faded when she realized the bittersweet feeling that his smile contained. She would be losing a dear friend today, after all. Everyone turned, seeing that Picard had changed his gaze to behind them. Vanessa smiled bittersweetly at the rest of them.

“I see that there’s one more thing we have to take care of,” she spoke.

“Indeed, there is,” the Admiral replied, stepping forward. He took her hand in his, which Cecilia made a mental note of, and they walked together to the room which held Data’s conscience. It was a computer machine, of course, but it still functioned as Data’s conscience, although the android himself was no longer living. There were just a few pull-out swatches that held the controls of it all. If those swatches were pulled out, one by one, Data’s conscience would be turned off. This was his last request to his former Captain. They each entered the room. Cecilia noticed a small little device that looked very similar to her mother’s music player, but it wasn’t the same one. Just by looking at the device, the Vulcan didn’t realize that she activated it. A song her mother and the Admiral knew very well started to play. It had once been sung in Data’s voice, but now it was someone else’s. It was Soji’s voice:

Blue skies smiling

at me

Nothing but blue skies

do I see

They all gathered around the console that held the swatches. Vanessa and Picard stood on one side of the console, while the rest where on the other. Vanessa placed her hand gently on top of the console, just above the first swatch. Picard moved to put his hand on her shoulder, but she raised her right hand to signal for him to leave her be.

Never saw the sun

shining so bright

Never saw things going

so right

Noticing the days hurrying by

When you’re in love, my,

how they fly

Vanessa took a deep breath and started to speak.

“Data was one of a kind,” she said, “Nothing will ever come close to what he was to all of us. He was kind, gentle, curious and a being that made the galaxy a better place.” Her voice quivered, as unshed tears burned in her eyes. She missed every member of her crew so much, but Data had always remained at the top of the list.

“Most of all,” Picard continued Vanessa’s statement, “out of everyone I’ve ever met he was the most…. _ human _ .” Vanessa remembered that Data once told her that she made him feel the most human he could be. She now believed that it was vice-versa. He made  _ all  _ of them more human. Everyone went silent for a moment, with the exception of the music still playing in the background.

Blue days, all of them

gone

Nothing but blue skies

from now on

The blue eyed Vulcan gathered her courage and pulled out the first of the swatches, beginning the shut-down process. Picard continued to speak.

“He was the best of us, striving for something we took for granted.” He pulled out the next swatch.

“He gave us hope for what we could eventually become,” Vanessa said. “To be better than we are at our current state.” Soji walked up to them, hesitating for only a second, and pulled the final swatch.

“He was an example to the galaxy of what it means to be a better man,” she concluded. Vanessa smiled at Soji, but it was a very sad smile. The Vulcan’s eyes were filled with tears that refused to fall. She had to let go of one of her best friends. It was time for her to stop holding on so tightly. Of course, it was important to never forget the past, but the future would always be ahead. It was time to let go of the past. Let it sit as a reminder of everything, but not as a rulebook for what was coming up. Vanessa could see an image forming in her head. She could see Data sitting alone on a couch in a familiar room. It was the living room of the  château. The room slowly withered away, until the hand of their Captain appeared to reach down and hold him, comforting him. The music playing in the background hit a crescendo, and Data smiled. Finally, he had a beginning and an end, just like his Captain and dear friends. Just like a human. Everyone stood there, watching as the lights of the machine dimmed, and it whirred to a stop. The music playing in the background also came to a conclusion:

Oh, blue skies smiling

at me

Nothing but blue skies

do I see.

That was the end. Data was now at peace, and both Vanessa and Picard knew this, despite their feeling of bittersweetness. They both had finally let go. It was the healing that they had needed for so many years.

Dr. Jurati packed her things into a small backpack, getting ready to return to  _ La Sirena  _ with everyone else. She was the last person that Vanessa needed to speak with, mostly for an introduction and an expression of gratitude.

“Well, I’ll certainly be sure to send high praise for you to the Daystrom Institute,” Vanessa greeted, as she entered the room. Jurati turned around.

“Oh, oh, thank you, Professor,” Agnes replied, getting caught up with her words. The two shook hands. “I really am sorry about Data. He was truly something special.” Vanessa smiled, even though it hurt.

“Yes, he was. In the end, though, I know that this was his will, and I don’t blame him. It was time for his new adventure. Just as it is for you.”

“I suppose so. I’m not really sure where we’re heading next.”

“Probably to Earth to get Juno.” Jurati smiled, remembering Cecilia’s dog, who they definitely would have to retrieve from Earth.

“Probably. It’s been an honor meeting you, Professor. Your reputation in Starfleet is….fascinating.”

“That’s a good way to put it. I was so close to having you as a student in one of my cybernetics classes, but they figured one insane cyberneticist was enough.” The Doctor laughed a bit, but it wasn’t a full, deep laugh. Vanessa took a closer step to Jurati, knowing that they were about to press into more serious matters. “I do have a favor to ask of you, though.”

“Oh, of course, anything.”

“The Admiral has something that he’s been meaning to give me for a very long time. When and if you return to Earth, make sure he gets that to me. Once he does, there’s a project I’d like to work on with you. It has to do with-” Vanessa lowered her voice and whispered the details into Jurati’s ear.

“Oh.”

“Would you be willing to do it?”

“I….we’ll have to see.” Vanessa nodded slowly.

“I think you’ll find it worthwhile.”

“Ok, then.”

Everyone was back on  _ La Sirena  _ within the hour, and Cecilia found herself doing something that she had never considered doing before. She spoke into the computer.

“Cecilia’s log, Stardate…..will get back on that Stardate. I’ve spent the past four years convincing myself that I need to fix a mistake that I once made. I think I’ve learned more in the short time I’ve been away from Earth than I have in all those four years. I have to let go of the past. What happened happened, but I can make my own future much brighter, surrounding myself with the people I care about and learning how their lives intertwine with mine. It’s time to see where the galaxy is going to lead me.” She ended the recording, taking a deep breath. She looked at her reflection in the glass window with a smile. Cecilia wouldn’t know that Picard heard her through her door. He smiled and walked towards the front of the ship. Cecilia exited her room, seeing Elnor standing off to the side, near the ladder to the lower level of the ship. The Romulan smiled at her, and she returned the smile. Cecilia suddenly got an idea, which was 100%, in full, inspired by her mother. She saw Picard and Rios looking at her. She smiled a particular smile that Picard instantly recognized. Cecilia looked over at Elnor. “Hey, Elnor, come here!” she called. Elnor knew somewhat about what she was thinking. He walked over to her. In a single swift move, she propped herself up on her tiptoes and kissed him in front of everyone. Picard was internally fuming, but he forced himself not to say anything right away. The kiss ended and both of the young adults looked over at their ‘audience’. Cecilia had a smirk on her face, while Elnor had somewhat of an embarrassed smile. She smiled at Elnor again, then walking over to her station at the right control panel, walking right past Picard. She took a seat, and Picard walked over to her.

“Busy?” he asked her.

“You could say that,” she replied with the same smirk. The smirk wasn’t necessarily going away, but it was definitely beginning to turn into a smile. Everyone got situated a few moments later. Soji now had the seat that was next to Cecilia, while Picard’s designated chair was the one between Cecilia’s and Rios’. “By the way, we better be heading to Earth to get my dog.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s fine,” Picard answered.

“Rios, set a course for Earth, please and thank you.”

“Yes ma’am, Siete,” Rios told her, smiling to himself. Cecilia grinned, then turning in her chair to look back at Picard.

“We’re ready to go, just say the word,” she said. Picard smiled back at her, starting to slightly point towards the path ahead of them.

“Engage.”


End file.
